Whispers of the Force
by Ana Hazel
Summary: What if Luke had warnings from the Force about all the darkness that was to come. What would he do? / Post NJO, Starts at the end of "The Unifying Force" / L/M, Ben Skywalker, H/L, J/J, J/TK, everybody else, a few OCs.
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** Whispers of the Force  
**Author:** Hazel  
**Genre:** AU, mostly drama.  
**Characters:** L/M, Ben Skywalker, H/L, J/J, J/TK, everybody else, a few OCs  
**Timeframe:** Post NJO, Starts at the end of "The Unifying Force"  
**Summary:** What if Luke had warnings from the Force about all the darkness that was to come. What would he do?  
**Disclaimer: **The Star Wars Universe does not belong to me (unfortunately). I just like to play with it.

**SPOILER ALERT:** Although some of the events portraying to DNT and posterior books are mentioned, this fic will be taking a whole new direction.

* * *

**WHISPERS OF THE FORCE** - a post NJO AU

"Through the Force, things you will see." - Yoda

"When the Force whispers, you must pay attention." - Obi-Wan Kenobi

"Sometimes the Force whispers, other times the Force screams. Either way, you listen." - Anakin Skywalker

* * *

**~ Chapter One ~**

Luke Skywalker was floating in warm calmness. The only sound he could hear was a double thump, the sound of his heart. He focused his attention on the thumping sound and detected another heartbeat, an echo of his own, beating at the same pace as if supporting his. As he noticed the existence of the echo, he realized that the warmness enveloping him was her presence, comforting and aiding his healing.

He slowly drifted back to consciousness and opened his eyes.

He was lying down on the double cot that was the bed he shared with Mara, in the dwelling that had been their home while on Zonama Sekot. He looked to his right and found her, his beloved wife, lying on her left side facing him, her left arm entwined with his right and her right hand softly covering the puncture wound on the left side of his chest.

Mara hadn't left his side for more than a few minutes since they had returned to Zonama, three days earlier, after his nearly fatal fight with Yuuzhan Vong Supreme Overlord Shimrra. And even then she did so only when someone else, usually Leia, was there to take her place. It seemed to Luke that she was afraid he would slip away from her if she were to let go.

Luke had spent most of the past few days in and out of healing trances, waking up only for meals and short visits from family and close friends. Even though his life was no longer on the line, thanks to his nephew's swift intervention, he still felt weary and in pain. His left hand, his natural one, still felt weak and tingly at times and the wound on his chest was far from even half healed.

He tried to reach for Mara's face, to touch and caress her cheek, but the movement drove a spike through his wound and he rested his left hand on top of her right, gently stroking that instead. She opened her eyes and curved her lips into a sleepy smile.

"Good morning, beautiful!" He greeted her, returning her smile.

"Hi, there handsome! How are you feeling?" She answered, snuggling a little closer and planting a tender kiss on his lips. Her movement allowed Luke to wrap his right arm around her waist and he pulled her up to rest half over the right side of his chest.

"I'm much better than yesterday, love. Kiss me again and I'll improve on that."

"Farmboy is making a comeback, I see." Mara returned, but obliged him willingly before rising to her feet. "Let's have a look at it."

Mara then proceeded to open Luke's shirt and to remove the bacta patches and bandages covering his injury. She cleaned the wound and redressed it taking care not to hurt Luke in the process.

"Is your hand still numb?"

"A little... It comes and goes. But Cilghal said it was normal and that the tingling would disappear as the inflammation went down, so-"

At that moment there was a knock on the door and in came Han sporting his famous lopsided grin.

"Are you kids decent?"

"Han, you can't just go right on invading other people's bedrooms!" Followed Leia carrying a tray covered with assorted foods and drinks.

"You said go in-"

"I said knock on the door. I'm sorry Luke, Mara, it seems my husband has lost his manners." Leia added while handing the tray over to her sister-in-law.

"That would imply he once had any." Mara retorted just for the hell of it.

Han quickly responded by faking an offended look, then putting his arm around Mara's shoulders and tugging, causing the bottles on the tray she was still carrying to wobble dangerously. "Hey, is this my reward for overseeing the repairs on the _Shadow_, while you nurse hubby there?"

Mara smiled apologetically. "Thanks for that, Han. I know she's in good hands."

"Thank you! By the way, there's some stuff there that needs your personal touch."

"Right! I'll take a look after breakfast."

In the meantime Leia had already set up the table and four chairs, one of which Luke had already occupied, and taken the tray back from Mara's hand placing it on the table.

As such, the rest of them took up seats and began their morning meal. Leia was happy to see that the injury Luke sustained and his general state of haggardness had not hindered his appetite. Nothing never ever hindered Luke's appetite.

Watching her brother and his wife, the way they positioned themselves, with Mara assisting Luke at every step, Leia couldn't help but think of the irony of their situation. A curious and somewhat tragic reversal of roles had taken place. If in the start of the war it was Luke who stood protectively over Mara, due to her intrinsic frail state, brought upon by a vong manufactured disease, now, at the seeming end of the same war, it was Mara who hovered over her husband tending to him whether he liked it or not while he recovered from his vong induced wounds and the lingering effects of the vong venom.

But fortunately where Mara's illness threatened her life, Luke's prognosis was much more favorable and Cilghal had assured them all, repeatedly, that the venom was not endangering his life and he would, eventually, make a full recovery.

"Leia! Leia, did you hear me?" Luke interrupted Leia's musings by tapping her arm. When he caught her attention he repeated his previous question. "I was asking about the contents of that thermos. Han said it was your surprise."

"Oh, yes, I nearly forgot. It's for you, from Talon. He says, and I repeat 'The Killer of Shimrra deserves to be spoiled', so here you go."

Luke winced at that _killer_ remark, but opened the thermos anticipating its contents. He inhaled deeply the flavored scent that rose up to meet his nose and sighed pleasurably.

"Hot chocolate! I haven't had any of this for a year. This is so rare nowadays, where did he find it?" He asked while pouring the drink into four cups and handing them out.

Mara picked up her cup, delightfully anticipating the taste of the hot drink on her tongue, and answered. "He will never tell you. But I'll wriggle it out of him."

"So, what's new?" She asked after taking a few sips.

"Well, Jacen, Tahiri and Harrar took the transport to Coruscant. He's been asked to take over the management of the World Brain and the other two will help with the dealings with the Vong." Han answered while taking a bite from a dustcrepe.

"Cal Omas has decided to move the Office to Denon until Coruscant has been deemed inhabitable. And Kre'fey is preparing to officially land on Coruscant and reclaim it on behalf of the Galactic Alliance." Leia continued while her husband chewed. "All the other Jedi are hanging around waiting to be called for something, and resting, or already on some kind of self assigned mission. But the overall feeling out there is relief. Everyone believes the war is over."

"How's Jaina?" Luke asked. He had been feeling conflicting emotions from his niece and that worried him, as it did Mara.

"She took her X-wing and reported to _Ralroost_." Leia answered dryly but her tone indicated her own worry for her daughter's state of mind.

Mara leaned back in her chair and added "Ask Jaina to come and see me when she comes back. I need to talk to her."

"Thanks, Mara! I know she'll listen to you." Leia hoped Jaina's former Master could reach her stubborn daughter in a way her own mother was unable to.

"Alright, if you're finished with that-", Han interrupted trying to lighten the mood that had befallen the group, "Mara, your ship needs some of your attention."

"Yeah! Let's go." Mara answered getting up. She planted a kiss in Luke's cheek and said "Be good!", to which he answered with a smile. Turning towards Leia, she added "Take care of him, I'll be right back."

As she followed Han out the door, she heard Luke answer "Yes, Mother!" The word _'Mother_' brought a pang of longing to her heart.

-TBC...


	2. Chapter 2

**~ Chapter Two ~**

Jaina Solo and her Twin Suns Squadron had been recalled to the _Ralroost_. The peace summit, the Yuuzhan Vong's official surrender, was taking place and the Chief of State had wanted a full display of the GA military forces to greet the vanquished. This would be a historical day, to be remembered for countless generations. The day the bloodiest, most horrifying war ever to afflict the peoples of the galaxy had ended - or so Cal Omas's speech stated, and peace was finally restored.

Jaina knew her entire family was there, as well as several of her friends - she could sense them in the Force - and yet she was not looking forward to seeing them.

She felt weighted down somehow, tired yet unwilling to take the time to rest. She had tried resting right after the last battle, but found her mind wouldn't shut down. It kept replaying the last events of that fight over and over again. And being surrounded by people who could sense the turmoil inside her didn't help at all, because even though they respected her privacy and didn't ask questions directly, she could tell by the way they looked at her and tiptoed around the subject, that they wanted to approach the topic. But Jaina didn't want to talk, she wanted to erase the whole thing from her memory.

Work provided that. While Jaina was in the cockpit of her X-wing, going through the motions, she could forget all about her other issues. That was why, only a couple of days after the battle, she had left Zonama and reported to _Ralroost_ for assignment. There was plenty of cleanup work to do and she would volunteer to it all if it kept her away from inquiring eyes.

Jaina was trying to hide her presence in the Force, as well as remaining inconspicuous as she walked along one of the landing decks of the Bothan assault cruiser, when she felt an arm coming down across her shoulders. She turned to see the devilish smirk on her aunt's lips.

"Here's my favorite niece!" Mara exclaimed.

"I'm your only niece, Aunt Mara." Jaina admonished out of habit.

"Details!"

Mara began leading Jaina to a secluded corner of the deck, a place where they could keep an eye on their surroundings without being noticed by others.

"I trust Uncle Luke is better?"

"Hum, yes, he is feeling much better. On the other hand, _your_ Force presence feels like something the vornskr dragged in."

Jaina stared at her aunt in disbelief. Then again her aunt wasn't one to beat around the bush.

"I don't know why you'd say that, I feel fine!" Jaina insisted, but even she heard the false note in the statement.

"Come on, Jaina, this is a celebration and you look like you're carrying all this dead weight on you." Mara looked her over with penetrating eyes. "Are you still upset about not being chosen by the seed-partners, or is it something else?"

"I still don't understand why I wasn't chosen." This wasn't the actual issue, but Jaina thought it was as good of an excuse as any, plus it steered the conversation away from the real problem.

"I thought you understood that the Force had another path planned for you. You were needed at the Citadel."

"I was useless at the Citadel, aunt Mara!" Jaina cried out. "I almost got Jacen killed and wasn't there for Uncle Luke." _Stang! So much for staying clear of the subject_ Jaina fumed inwardly.

"Ok, so _that's_ what's really bothering you!"

Since Mara had found the real source of her niece's mood, Jaina knew it was time to stop running from it. She reached to the Force for calmness, raised her eyes to face her aunt and nodded.

"Jaina, let's think this through." Mara added after sensing Jaina's anxiety. "You were in the Citadel with Luke and Jacen, holding off the slayers - very well from what I heard - and then you left. You went after Shimrra's Shamed One. Why did you do that?"

"I saw him skulking away and felt he was up to something. I had to go after him." Jaina explained. "It was an impulse decision."

"Do you feel you were thoughtless in that decision?"

"Seeing that it caused even more trouble... I might have been!"

"But Jaina, think about it. If you hadn't gone after him, Onimi would have slipped right through our fingers. And in light of what we know now, that Shimrra was a mere puppet and Onimi was the one pulling the strings, maybe that impulse decision was the Force whispering to you to not let him get away." Jaina was about to interrupt her aunt's reasoning but stopped at Mara's raised hand. "And I say this, Jaina, because I truly believe that, if Onimi had gotten away, he would have caused a whole lot of trouble for us. Not to mention that you were the only one available to go after him, since both your uncle and your brother had their hands quite full at the time."

"But I got myself captured, Aunt Mara, that didn't help at all. Some _'Sword of the Jedi'_ I turned out to be."

Perceiving Jaina's chagrin through the Force, Mara pushed harder in order to get another kind of reaction. "Oh, so it's a pride thing! Tell me, dear niece, what would you have done if Onimi hadn't captured you? Would you have engaged him in single combat?"

"Yes, I would have tried to capture him!" Jaina stated in a somewhat heated tone.

"Alright then, but we now know that he was a Force user, a very resourceful one at that, and that his offensive techniques were somewhat... unorthodox. Knowing that, do you think you would be able to thwart his attack, the same kind of attack he threw at Jacen?

"No, I would not." The younger woman answered in a barely audible tone.

"What would have happened had you tried to capture him?" Mara then asked.

"I would have gotten killed." Jaina supposed.

"So, instead what happened?"

"He captured me and Jacen fought him."

"Yes, Jacen fought him." Mara then tried for a conclusion. "And in this case, Jacen was the best man for the job. Even your uncle would have had trouble fending off Onimi's attack."

"But Jacen wouldn't even let me help him. I wanted to send him my strength and he wouldn't accept it." Jaina's heated tone was back, but she was still hanging on to her arguments.

Mara rolled her eyes, took a deep breath. _This girl is definitely a relation to the Solos and Skywalkers._ Mara thought.

"Well, Jaina, even that has some logic to it. Onimi was centering his attack on Jacen. Had he realized you were aiding your brother - and he would have - he would've turned his attention to you. Had he done that, and since you were unable to fend for your self, Jacen would've had to defend both of you. It would have been much harder for him to succeed."

Jaina looked up at her aunt with a somewhat embarrassed look, but Mara could tell that she was getting to Jaina with her clear logic. Now sure that the subject was being laid to rest, Mara wrapped it up.

"So, now that you thought it through, what do you conclude?"

"That my part in all that was to stall Onimi and keep him from escaping."

"Which you accomplished perfectly." Mara added. "And what did you learn?"

"That the whole thing was a team effort and no one single person would have accomplished the task."

"That's right! Might I add that, in this case, the only casualty was your pride... and Onimi."

At this point Mara could see the beginning of a smile in Jaina's lips. She answered it with one of her own.

"And to wrap this up, what would your uncle have said?"

"That the Force works in mysterious ways and that it is not our place to doubt its wisdom."

"Great! Now let's go, there's a party going on up there and we're missing it. Your dad wants a hug."

With that the two women walked out of the fight deck, jumped on the turbolift and went up to join the party.

As the turbolift's blast-doors closed, one last comment from Mara made Jaina laugh. "Don't you miss having me for a Master?"

~.~.~.~

Luke Skywalker was standing in the middle of _Ralroost's_ VIP room, surrounded by the Chiefs of State and of the Military. This was a gathering of the most prominent beings in the galaxy and they were celebrating the signing of the peace accord with the Yuuzhan Vong. He felt like he was standing in the most mind-numbing place in the galaxy. All the yapping from all the politicians and would be politicians around him were making him feel muddled.

The Jedi Master was usually interested in what these beings had to say, but this day, it was proving too much. He was constantly drawing from the Force just to keep himself marginally aware, but with very little success. His sense of the Force had been somewhat unsteady since his injury, either increasing to unlimited wholeness or decreasing to an almost nothingness. It was a staggering feeling and he hoped it would wear off soon.

Luke surreptitiously moved his gaze around the room, spotting his fellow Jedi on the far right talking amiably amongst themselves. He threw a _"help me"_ look to his sister receiving a knowledgeable smile in return. Leia knew exactly just how annoying politicians could be. He then turned towards the transparisteele window overlooking the flight deck below and smiled inwardly. He could just see his wife leading their niece somewhere out of sight, where they could have an overdue conversation.

Looking a little more to the left he noticed the most unusual of sights. The Priest Harrar was exhibiting an amazed look on is yuuzhan vong featured face, while listening to C-3PO tell one of his stories. By the way the droid waved his mechanical arms around and the somewhat loud sound effects, added by Artoo's whistles and warbles, he recognized the story as that of the Endor strike team.

When his illustrious companions turned to greet yet another dignitary, Luke took the opportunity to slip away and join Harrar and the two droids. As he approached them, he heard Harrar saying how interesting the story was and how brave the droids had been during the whole adventure. This last comment drew a series of chuckles from Luke, which in turn drew the threesome's attention.

"Ah, it's Master Luke!" Threepio exclaimed in his usual helpful way. "I was just explaining to His Excellency how the Rebel Alliance brought down the Empire.

"And just for how many weeks have you been recounting this saga?" Luke asked, knowing from experience just how lengthy Threepio's stories could be. "Because Harrar looks like he has forgotten himself."

"Why, Master Luke, I was just being thorough!" The droid replied.

"All right, all right Threepio. I believe Counselor Triebakk is having some trouble making himself understood by the Falleen delegation, over there. Maybe you should go help them out."

"Yes, of course, Master Luke. I will go right away. As you know I am fluent in over six mill-"

"Yes, Threepio, I know!" Luke interrupted and sent Threepio on his way. It crossed his mind that he had probably heard that statement about six million times since meting the droid.

"You may go with him Artoo." Luke answered the little droid's questioning chirps. He then turned to Harrar and extended his arm in a greeting.

"I apologize for Threepio, Harrar, he can be rather… insistent."

"That's quite alright, Luke. It was a very interesting story, even if a little lengthy. Maybe a few days from now, I will ask him how it ends." Harrar answered while returning Luke's greeting. "They are quite lively, your mechanical friends."

"Sometimes they can be a little _too_ lively, but we like them that way. I haven't thought of them as machines in a very long time." Luke added while watching the two droids approaching the delegates. He returned his gaze to Harrar to find him deep in thought.

A few moments later, the priest turned to him and explained. "They are livelier than our biots. It would have been a shame if they had been destroyed." After a while he continued. "It was all such a waste."

Luke couldn't keep the surprise from reaching his face. This yuuzhan vong priest, who until mere months ago would have turned the two droids, and every other machine he could find, into scrap, was regretting his people's destructive actions.

"My people have so much changing to do. I wonder if we will succeed." The priest continued.

"I'm sure you will. With Sekot's guidance, I truly believe the Yuuzhan Vong will be able to redefine their ways and strive for redemption."

Harrar smiled at Luke's reassurance and continued his musings.

"It's a twisted fact that a people who claimed to worship life would find itself enslaving every other life form that crossed its path and, ultimately, becoming death. No wonder our parent Yuuzhan'tar denied us."

Luke nodded understandingly.

"It is true. But I think that, given enough time, all the Sons of Yuuzhan'tar will come to understand that, as you have. It is your future!"

At that moment, the main entrance to the room opened and in came Mara Jade Skywalker and Jaina Solo, both laughing at some secret comment.

The rest of the Solo family, spotting their missing family member, rushed joyously to greet her and her escort. Luke didn't have to look at his wife or seek the aid of the Force to see that the talk between the two women had been fruitful, all he had to do was look at his niece's bright brown eyes and find the relief in them.

It was while Jacen caught his twin in a tight hug that the vision hit him like a thunderbolt. Luke's heart pounded in his chest like a hydraulic power hammer as the room spun and he felt the blood rush from his head. He would've collapsed if Harrar hadn't caught hold of his arm.

"Are you alright, Luke?" The priest asked with a worried tone.

Mara, who undoubtedly had felt his shock through their bond, made her way to his side in a split second and held his other arm.

"I'm alright now, thank you!" He answered the priest. To Mara he sent an: _I'll tell you later_.

As he tried to settle himself, he found it impossible to forget the scene of his niece and nephew, lightsabers in hand, engaged in a vicious duel.

-TBC...


	3. Chapter 3

**~ Chapter Three ~**

Jaina and Jacen Solo had taken the morning to spend together. They couldn't remember the last time they had done that - just to hang out for the sake of hanging out.

Things were quieting down all over the galaxy, since Nas Choka was living up to his word and helping the Galactic Alliance round up and apprehend, or eliminate, all the yuuzhan vong troops still roaming the hyperlanes or hiding on some secluded planet somewhere. Because the yuuzhan vong warriors now helping the GA were weary of working with the Jedi, and as not to cause unnecessary trouble, Supreme Commander Kre'fey had politely dismissed his longtime allies from their duties to the Military. Most of the Jedi had taken it rather well, seizing the opportunity to take in the atmosphere of the living world where they were staying, but a few had been a bit offended.

The twins were among the first group. Walking slowly along a rising path, they breathed in the clean cold air and reveled in the sense of the living force around them. Jacen was taking his sister to the reflecting pool, one of his favorite places, and one he knew she would enjoy.

When arriving at their destination, they sat on a large boulder and stared at the water below silently.

Jaina was the first to break the silence.

"What do you think is wrong with Uncle Luke?" Jaina asked. Their uncle had been acting strangely over the past few days and wouldn't tell anyone what was wrong. Well, perhaps not anyone. Jaina was certain her Aunt Mara knew exactly what was going on.

"Who knows." Jacen answered. "But sometimes he looks at me like I'm about to burst into flames." He had also noticed his uncle's strange behavior and that, above everything else, troubled him.

"Tell me about it! At breakfast, this morning, he was staring at me like I had grown a second head or something." Jaina remembered. "It was so weird!"

"Mom thinks he is still suffering from the effects of the venom and that it's messing up his perception."

"Have you touched him in the Force?"

"I've tried, but he's either blocked me out or just feels plain confusing." Jacen stated.

"Me too. I wish he'd just tell us what's going on. Maybe then we could help."

"I tried to talk to him about it, but he just told me not to worry, that he had some things to work out." He added. "We just have to trust that he'll tell us when he's ready."

"Yeah!" Jaina agreed. "We'll be there when he needs us. That's all we can do."

~.~.~.~

The two Jedi Masters were sitting on the ground in silence. Luke was leaning against a huge boras tree and Mara was resting against him, his arms wrapped around her protectively. Even though the sun was high in the sky it was cold, but their jedi cloaks and body heat provided enough warmth to keep them comfortable.

Although feeling much better, Luke's chest injury was not quite healed yet and the venom's effects on his body were far from subsiding. Luke wondered if the visions and dreams he was having in the past days were a product of the Force or of the venom.

The Force kept coming to him in waves, first offering him glimpses into dreadful futures, then after refusing him the clarity and guidance he so desperately needed to understand them. They were like little pieces of a much larger puzzle, or several puzzles, Luke couldn't tell which was the case.

Maybe he was just losing his mind. That was a comforting thought - they were not messages from the Force, he was just going crazy. His nephew was not going to turn into a sith; his family was safe; his niece would not be acting like a bug.

"What do you mean she was covered in bugs?" Mara asked undoubtedly sensing his trail of thought. That had been is latest dream and the focus of their previous conversation - bugs, Jaina and more bugs.

"Well, maybe covered isn't accurate. She was wearing a vac suit and, the bugs were crawling out of it. And there were bugs all around her, too."

"That's disgusting!" She exclaimed, no doubt picturing their beautiful niece knee deep in bugs. "And Raynar was there?"

"Yes, I think he was leading them. Either that or he was their prisoner."

"You see, that's what I was talking about. Raynar is dead." Mara replied.

"We can't be sure of that, Mara. I mean, the last time he was seen, he was still alive - badly injured, but alive. Maybe he survived, somehow."

Mara didn't know how to refute that. Luke was right, it was a possibility.

"If only there was some way we could test this." She then sensed what he was going to suggest and quickly added: "Without touring the Unknown Regions looking for bugs, Luke."

They fell silent again, trying to come up with an answer.

A little while after, Mara turned to face him and asked the question that was bothering her. "Why did the bugs want me dead?"

"It was something about your past, but I can't remember what." Luke answered while pulling her back into his embrace. She settled again to her previous position - back against his chest - and he kissed her temple, holding her tighter. The thought that anything would try to take his love from him making his heart feel strangled.

Then Luke remembered another part of his dream.

"There was something about my mother… and Artoo."

"Your mother had an affair with Artoo?" Mara asked, trying to make him laugh.

"NO!" Luke snorted out amusingly horrified, which made her start laughing on her own. "That's not funny, Mara!"

"_What!_ The rest of your dream is ludicrous enough, why should that part be an exception?" She defended her self, still trying to convince her husband that his dream was just a dream, and a very weird one at that.

"I'm serious, Mara!" He admonished her while smiling. "In the dream, Artoo knew things about my mother. I remember there were holos…"

This time, Mara only turned her head to look at him. His eyes were unfocused, while he was attempting to recall the images from his dream.

"Why would Artoo know something about your mother and not tell you. Especially after that time you traveled all around the galaxy looking for her?" Mara promptly pointed out, finding Luke's dream more and more mystifying.

Luke looked at her with uncertainty in his eyes. "I think it was because of my father."

Mara shrugged and then added. "This, however, should be fairly easy to verify."

-TBC...


	4. Chapter 4

**~ Chapter Four ~  
**

"Artoo! Artoo, where are you?"

Luke Skywalker was running around the settlement, calling out to the little droid like his life depended on it and drawing out all sorts of unwanted attention. His wife was trying to keep up with him, ranting something like "It doesn't have to be now! You're gonna scare him." Everyone who was watching the scene was trying to imagine just what Artoo had done and if it was a good idea to point him out to his master.

When Mara had explained to Luke just how they could test the theory that his dreams, and maybe by association the visions he'd been having, were really a message from the Force, he had stormed out of the clearing where they were resting, practically sprinting all the way back to the settlement. He just had to know!

While making his way back, his mind ran with him. One side of him wanted Artoo to have the holos, the side that had spent all his life looking for answers about his family, while the other side wished beyond wishing that this was another wild yunax chase, the one that wanted a bright future with his family and friends. It was by the time Luke reached his destination that he came to the conclusion that no matter how this turned out, he lost – either his past or his future.

Luke was stopped in his tracks by his sister, who was coming out of the _Falcon_.

"Luke, what's going on here?" She demanded. "What are you doing?"

"I'm looking for Artoo. Have you seen him?" He replied looking over her shoulder.

Leia then turned to Mara who just shrugged. The redhead didn't know what to say to her sister-in-law because, since Luke's visions had started, they both had agreed to keep everybody else out of the loop. It was just too complicated to explain and if Leia or Han knew just what kind of visions Luke was having they would be extremely upset and, probably, angry. Of course, since they were aware that something was going on and that they were being left out of it, they were already upset - and somewhat angry.

"I think he's helping Lowbacca in _Jade Shadow_." Leia answered knowing she wouldn't be getting any other answer from her brother.

Luke quickly turned and entered the _Shadow_, closely followed by his wife and his sister.

Once inside, they made their way to the ship's engine compartment, following the sound of growls and whistles seemingly engaged in a heated discussion. Apparently the ship's designated engineers had different ideas about the best way to enhance the power rerouting circuits.

"Hey! What's going on here?" Mara interrupted. There would be no arguing about or in her ship without her express permission.

Both droid and Wookiee stood up strait and quieted, startled by the threesome's sudden arrival. They were about to start explaining their attitude when Luke pulled up his hand and turned to the Wookiee.

"Lowie, I think it's time you took a break." Then he added, eyeing Artoo. "We would like to have a word with Artoo in private."

[That would be fine, Master Skywalker, I was getting hungry anyway.] The Wookiee growled back.

After he left, Luke and Mara lead the little droid to the ship's lounge. Leia followed them inconspicuously, taking advantage of the fact that Luke, being so troubled, seemed to have forgotten she was there. _'Perfect opportunity to practice Force techniques for shielding my presence'_ She thought to herself, a little mischievously. They took up places around the lounge, Artoo in the center, Luke directly in front of him with his arms crossed over his chest and the two women on either side of the entrance. Mara noticed Leia's presence, but decided against saying something.

"Artoo, I need to ask you something very important." Luke started in a tone that reminded his sister of the times he questioned her kids about something they'd done.

*I'm listening.* Artoo whistled back.

Luke took a moment to collect his thoughts and asked the big question. "Artoo… Do you have any information concerning my mother?"

The reactions around the room were varied – Mara stood up strait and focused her attention on the droid, Leia's mouth opened and her eyes flew from Artoo to Luke and back again trying to understand where all this had come from, Artoo started a series of loud whistles and chitters that could only be translated as _*Are you crazy? What are you talking about? I'm leaving!*_ and made his way to the entrance. Luke might have believed the droid if not for his explosive retort.

At this point Mara quickly reached for the control panel next to her and closed the blast-doors. "Sorry, Shorty, you're not going anywhere just yet!" She said defensively.

Seeing his exit closing fast, the little droid proceeded to reach for the control outlet on the other side of the blast-doors, with his extendable arm, but was out maneuvered by Leia, who swiftly stood in front of it.

Since his path had been cut off, Artoo turned back to face Luke. Had he lungs, he would have taken a deep breath.

In the meantime, Luke had reached for a datapad that had been sitting nearby and proceeded to attach the device to an output plug near the droid's dome.

"Okay, now I can understand everything you say." He stated. "Let's start again, Artoo. What do you know about my family's history?"

*What makes you think I know anything?* Artoo warbled.

"Well, for starters, your reaction to my first question." Luke was attempting to draw calming waves from the Force, but it still seemed to be eluding him because his heart was racing, and not due to his previous run. "You wouldn't have reacted so strongly if you knew nothing."

Artoo recognized his master's logic. He had reacted rashly, without calculating the probabilities for success of each possible answer. He then chose to try a change of arguments.

*The data you seek cannot be accessed in this manner.*

"Then how can we access the data?" Luke asked. He was now having the strangest feeling that he had had this conversation before. It occurred to him that it had probably been in his dream. That thought brought a tightening feeling to his stomach.

*A special code is needed to access the data.* Artoo excused himself.

"Give me the code, then. And don't say you don't have it, Artoo, 'cause I know you do."

*The code will only bring you pain. I cannot give it to you. It is my primary objective to keep you from getting hurt.*

At this time Luke knelt in front of the droid.

"But, Artoo, you can't stop me from getting hurt. Not knowing is hurting me. Thinking you have the answers I've been seeking for so long and won't give them is hurting me. So, as you can see, you're already hurting me." Oh yes, he definitely had had this conversion in his dream.

*I'm just attempting to protect you.* Artoo let out a sad whistle.

"I know, and I appreciate it, little buddy. But you can't protect me from this."

Luke placed his hands on what would be the droid's shoulders.

"Please, Artoo! I need to know. It is very important that I..." Luke moved his gaze to his sister, who had moved closer, sending her a quiet question. At her nod he added. "... We know the truth. Do you know anything about our mother?"

Maybe it was Luke's pleading tone, or maybe it was the fact that Artoo understood that his Master's biometric readings were way to high, but at that moment Artoo knew - the time had come to surrender his secret. It was time Luke, and also Leia, knew the truth about their family. Even if it caused them pain.

*I know everything!*

~.~.~.~

Han Solo came down the _Falcon's_ ramp looking for his wife. She had left his side about ten minutes ago to check on her brother who was frantically running around the settlement, asking for his astromech droid. The kid hadn't been well since the battle at the Citadel and for the past few days had taken a turn for the worst. "He's just not himself lately." Han had told Leia earlier that day. And now Leia had went off after him.

Spotting a few of the younger Jedi sitting around a table to his far left, he hurried to question them.

"Hey, fellas!" He greeted them. "Have you seen Leia?"

"Why is everyone looking for someone today? And what do we look like – lost and found?" Alema Rar scolded. She was one of those who were not happy for being dismissed by the Military since she was still eager to kick some vong butt and that desire made her a very grumpy companion.

"Take it easy, sister! There's no need to bite." Han answered back to the Twi'lek.

[Leia is in _Jade Shadow_ with the Masters Skywalker, Captain Solo.] Lowbacca informed Han.

"Thanks, kid!" Han replied then, turning to Alema, he added. "See, was that so hard?" He then turned and made his way to the _Shadow_ , followed by Threepio, who had accompanied him from the _Falcon_. They arrived just as the blast-doors that accessed the ship's lounge were opening up.

~.~.~.~

Leia was stunned.

Artoo had known her mother… that is both she and Luke's mother… all this time and never said anything. 'How did Luke find out?' She wondered. Her brain felt like it was somersaulting inside her skull.

Her brother, who had just made the most important discovery regarding their family's history since the time he revealed to her their kinship, was sitting on his haunches looking as defeated as if he had lost a loved one. His presence in the Force was in complete turmoil and Leia felt that turbulence taking over her own senses.

Mara had made her way to Luke and now was kneeling next to him holding his face between her hands, caressing it and whispering something Leia couldn't hear.

Not being able to stand the situation any longer, Leia reached for the control panel and opened the blast-doors. She left the lounge and surrendered to her husband's waiting arms.

~.~.~.~

"It's alright, Luke, It's gonna be alright!" Mara spoke in a soothing voice in her husband's ear. They were both kneeling on the ship's floor and he was breaking down in front of her. She was using the Force to calm him with only marginal success.

"Mara, they're real, my visions are gonna come true." Luke's voice was ragged from the stress of his feelings.

*What is he talking about?* Artoo, who was standing right next to them, asked, confused by the situation.

"Luke's been having visions. That's how he knew you were hiding information about his mother." Mara saw no point in lying to the droid. As a matter of fact, she no longer saw a point in hiding Luke's visions from the rest of the family. If there was truth in them, the family needed to be prepared. Only together they could prevail. At the droid's confused warble, she added. "We'll explain later. Could you get him a drink, Artoo? Thanks."

Turning back to Luke, she leaned her head to his, touching his forehead with her own and continued: "Sweetheart, listen - now that we confirmed them, we can fix them. You just need to calm down, concentrate on your recovery and then we'll be able to do something about the visions. Alright?"

Luke looked into his wife's beautiful green eyes. He could see love and assurance in them. He could feel the force flowing from her to him through their bond. The bond they had discovered in a cave on a planet beyond the Outer Rim ten years earlier. A bond that had been forged through the Force, in the Force and by the Force, and that would never, ever break - not even by death.

He brought their lips together and whispered to her.

"I love you, Mara! Don't ever leave me."

In way of an answer, Mara captured his lips with her own and through their bond sent him one word.

'Never!'

~.~.~.~

Things were quieter now.

By the time the Solos got back inside, accompanied by Threepio - Artoo returned with a bottle of Corellian whiskey he found in a cabinet and Han poured everyone a drink. Luke had protested saying alcohol wouldn't help anything and besides he didn't care for the stuff, but Han and Artoo insisted that he had at least one sip assuring Luke he would feel better. Luke ended up taking a small sip just to shut them up. Amazingly, after the burning sensation in his throat subsided, Luke did start to feel calmer, lighter in the head. He decided then that the whiskey had already served its purpose and he put it aside.

After all four humans were comfortably seated, it was time for questions and answers.

The biggest question was where to start. Han supplied the starting point by demanding to know how the kriff did Luke find out about Artoo's secret. Since Leia also wanted very much the answer to that question, she supported her husband's demand.

Luke had no choice but to explain, but he still withheld the more gruesome details of his dream. There was no point in upsetting the Solos by telling them what the future held for their children. Not at this point. Especially since they had just walked in, as if on cue.

After the twins settled down and were given a short version of the events, Artoo started whistling his tale, while Threepio gladly translated for the family. The little droid made a point of showing them the holos he had made, and that went with each part of the story, by connecting himself to the lounge's giant holoscreen. When he introduced Padmé Amidala Naberrie of Naboo and showed them her holo on the big screen, Leia caught her breath and everyone could see how alike mother and daughter were.

Artoo began by telling them about how he was on board the ship that carried the Queen and broke the Trade Federation's blockade. He told them about the landing on Tatooine and meeting the boy, Anakin Skywalker, and his half built protocol droid C-3PO.

At this point Artoo had to explain that the reason Threepio didn't have any memory of the events was that Bail Organa had ordered a memory wipe to be performed on the droid. This revelation, of course, drew as outraged shriek out of the protocol droid.

Continuing his account, Artoo went on to tell them about the death of Qui-Gon Jinn's and how Obi-Wan had agreed to take young Skywalker as his padawan.

As the afternoon went on, Artoo took them in a trip through time. He told them how, years later, Anakin Skywalker had gotten back in to Padmé's life. How they fell in love, about the Battle of Geonosis, about their secret wedding. He went on by telling them about Padmé giving him to Anakin after Anakin became a Knight. He recounted the numerous adventures he had with Anakin during the war and was even able to put an end to the never ending dispute between Luke and Leia about who was older.

In the end, he explained how Padmé had died after giving birth to her twins, but refused to show the holos of the events that preceded the birth. When questioned about them, Artoo merely stated that it was not the strains of the birth that killed her. Then he added that she had died of a broken heart.

No one needed further explanation, it was clear that Padmé's death was due to the birth, not of her children, but of Darth Vader.

~.~.~.~

Over the next couple of days the Solos and Skywalkers continued viewing the holos Artoo had stored in his memory banks. They were numerous, some showed battle scenes, others romantic moments and others were talks between friends.

These moments were good for Luke, he found it easy to put aside his worries about the visions while being surrounded by family and distracted by Artoo's stories, and that allowed him to find some of that jedi calm that was eluding him since his first vision.

It was halfway through the afternoon of the second day that Artoo turned to the Skywalker couple and twittered what Threepio translated as "There is something you should see!"

"Alright then, show us." Luke said, not understanding what was keeping the droid from just showing whatever it was.

"Not you, Master Luke. Artoo is talking to Mistress Mara." Threepio clarified.

That statement brought the whole audience to a standstill. What could Artoo have to show to Mara in particular? Could it be the little droid knew something about her, too? What other secrets could be hidden under that little dome?

"Okay, Artoo, I'll play! What do you have to show me?" Mara asked a little apprehensively.

Instead of answering, Artoo plugged himself back into the holoscreen and showed them the holo.

They watched on the screen as the image progressed along a dark corridor. The image rotated to the right just as a man's voice spoke and a tall dark haired man wearing a cropped beard and mustache came into view. He was immediately recognized as Bail Organa.

~.~

_"A friend wants to see you, Artoo. She needs your help with something." Organa explained to his droid companion. A chitter was heard in what sounded like a question."_

_"You'll see who it is. It's best not to speak of her name out loud."_

_As the image reached the end of the hall, Bail Organa reached for a control panel and opened the last remaining door._

_Inside, standing by the window but taking care not to be seen from the outside, was a hooded figure, wearing a dark brown travel cloak and hood. As she turned and removed the hood, a braid of red gold hair fell over her shoulder._

_"I've brought Artoo, as you requested, Jas-Lyn." The man said while greeting the woman with a respectful hug._

_"Yes, I can see that. Thanks Bail!" She said answering his greeting. "Hi there, Artoo, long time no see. Have you been behaving yourself?"_

_The droid let out a joyful warble as an answer._

_"I can imagine." She responded. "I have a favor to ask of you."_

_She took a data-card from one of her cloaks pockets while removing it and throwing the cloak on top of a nearby chair. As she did that it became apparent that she was pregnant – probably about six months along. When, from a deep side pocket a lightsaber fell to the floor, she looked at it, shrugged and called it to her hand. She was a Jedi._

_She came closer to the droid and knelt in front of the focus point, her face coming in full view within the image. She was beautiful, but looked tired. She looked about thirty years-old, had freckles sprayed over her cheeks and dark circles under her blue eyes._

_She inserted the data-card into one of the Artoo's slots and explained what she wanted of him._

_"In this data-cart are several fake identities. What I need you to do, Artoo, is upload them to the Holonet and use your special skills in making them believable enough to withstand official scrutiny. They are to be use by Jedi in hiding and by members of the Resistance. Can you do that, little buddy?"_

_Artoo's answer was a cheerful whistle._

_While the droid busied himself with his task, the two humans took seats in chairs and began conversing. Artoo, ever the expert in multitasking kept his visor on them while uploading and converting the files._

_"So, Bail, what's new? How's Leia?" Jas-Lyn inquired._

_"She's great!" Bail answered with a wince. "She gives the expression 'terrible twos' a whole new meaning. You'll see when you get there." He added pointing to her bulging stomach. Then he remembered Leia was half of a twosome and asked about the other half._

_"Do you know how the boy is?"_

_Jas-Lyn nodded. "I just came from Tatooine. My brother said that he's a regular sand-sprite. Obi-Wan's words, not mine."_

_"You saw Obi-Wan?"_

_She nodded again, but now her eyes looked sadder._

_"We argued. He doesn't approve of…" She looked down and gently rubbed her belly. "He never approved of me and Marcus and now with the baby… I think he's afraid I'll fall to the Dark Side as well."_

_"Where is Marcus? I thought he'd come with you."_

_"We got separated. We were supposed to rendezvous on Tatooine, but he didn't make it." At this point Jas-Lyn's voice faltered as she strived to fight back the tears. "Blasted hormones!" she added as an excuse._

_Bail knew better than to push the subject any further and instead tried to make the conversation a bit lighter._

_"So, have you picked any names for the baby?" He asked while nodding at her bulged belly._

_"It's a girl. Marcus was pushing for Mara, after his baby sister. I kind of like it."_

_By then Artoo had finished his task._

_As the two humans and the droid bid their farewells Bail asked. "Jas-Lyn, won't you consider my offer? You can stay here until your baby is born. It's safe."_

_"No thank you, Bail. If I were to stay here it would no longer be safe. I have to go. Good-bye and thank you again."_

_With those words, Jas-Lyn picked up her cloak, donned it, stored her lightsaber in one of the inside pockets, then turned and left._

~.~

When the image on the holoscreen turned off every single human in the room was dumbfounded. They sat there, in the dark, looking at the empty holoscreen for several minutes until someone found a voice.

That someone was Luke.

"She was Obi-Wan's sister?" "He asked Artoo. The droid answered with an affirmative beep.

Mara was still looking at the screen barely aware that there was talking now. Luke had gathered her hands in his, they were cold and sweaty and he rubbed them to warm them up while Leia, who was sitting on her other side, kept rubbing her back. Slowly, Mara's attention came back to her surroundings.

"What about that Marcus, my Dad asked about, who's he?" Leia asked trying to help.

Artoo's answer came out of Threepio's mouth.

"Captain Marcus Jade was a member of the Republic Group and former CorSec agent. He worked often with the Jedi during the Clone Wars and was part of the task force the Jedi Council put together to uncover the sith threat. I do not know if Captain Jade and Jedi Knight Kenobi ever married, but they were involved for several years."

It was Han Solo who picked up on that little piece of information and ran with it.

"CorSec agent? Jade was Corellian?"

Artoo's answer was affirmative.

Mara only then began to understand the implications of that affirmation and the teasing eyes of the people around her. She would never live that down.

"Aunt Mara is Corellian!" Jaina stated no longer trying to hide her huge grin.

"Welcome to the Corellian side of the family, Aunt Mara!" Jacen was quick to add.

"After all these years, it sure explains a lot." Luke's remark was met with a slap in the arm.

Leia was laughing out loud and trying to hug her sister-in-law while saying. "We really should have known."

By that time Mara was already laughing with the rest of them.

No, she would _never ever_ live that down. And she even didn't even care to. She had found her family.

-TBC...


	5. Chapter 5

**~ Chapter Five ~**

The Skywalkers were coming down the access path leading to their cliff side dwelling. It was early in the morning and very cold. They were heading to the landing field next to the settlement that served as the Jedi base on Zonama Sekot.

A small transport vessel was approaching the landing field from the air, but they weren't worried. They were expecting it. After the transport landed and its ramp was lowered, two men and a woman came out.

When the new arrivals saw who was waiting for them, their grins grew wider. The younger man's in particular was so wide, his face had to be aching.

"Oh, great! They heard." Mara complained to her husband in a low voice.

"They would have sooner or later. Relax, it will be over soon." He soothed her amusingly.

Since they had found out about Mara's Corellian heritage, two days before, Han Solo had taken it upon himself to spread the word throughout the settlement and Mara was starting to tire of the endless jokes.

When the newcomers drew close enough, the younger man threw his arm around Mara's shoulders and greeted her. "Hello, CorSec Junior!"

"Shove it, Horn!" Mara retorted throwing a sideways glance at Luke's chuckles.

"I knew there was something Corellian about you, Red." Booster said as he slapped her back a little too hard. "But really, did he have to be a CorSec? Hey, maybe I had a few run-ins with your old man in my younger years."

"Dad, stop it!" Mirax interrupted before giving her friend a warm hug. "We're really happy for you, Mara, and Corran already volunteered to question his grandfather about your dad. Didn't you, Corran?

"You bet, I did." Corran answered his wife before turning back to Mara. "I'll get his whole file for you, Mara."

"Thanks, guys!" Mara returned smiling. She really had good friends. "But I don't think that's why Luke asked you to come here."

"No, it wasn't." Luke confirmed grinning. He was truly enjoying the displays of friendship in front of him, but he had something just as important to ask of their friends. "I was wondering, Booster, if the repairs on the Venture were finished yet."

"Why?" The smuggler replied with a suspicious look on his face. His beloved Errant Venture had taken a beating during the Liberation of Coruscant and he had just finished getting it back to operational mode.

"Because I wanted to ask a huge favor of you." Luke explained. "I'd like to ask you to take it to Shelter and bring the kids and everybody else back."

"Oh!" Booster wasn't expecting that request and quickly considered it. "Sure, I can squeeze them in. To tell you the truth, I think the Venture misses those Jedi brats." _'I know I do.'_ He thought to himself. _'Especially two of them.'_

Luke's request was met with the biggest grins on the faces of those around him. Mara had been longing to hold their son for so long; Luke knew the only reason she hadn't picked up and left for the Maw as soon as the surrender took place was his need of her. And Corran and Mirax… Luke had no idea when was the last time they had seen their own kids. He then turned to Corran and added to his request.

"Corran, I'd like you to put a squadron together and provide escort to the Errant Venture. Even though Intelligence says the hyperlanes are safe now, we know there are still some dangerous groups out there and I don't want to take any chances with the children."

"My pleasure, Master Skywalker!" Flying escort to the Venture was the perfect excuse to see his kids that much sooner, and since Mirax would be going as Booster's Second… Well, it would be a family reunion.

"Great!" Luke rejoiced, not in the least bit surprised. "Leave when you're ready."

~.~.~.~

After Terrik and the Horns left, Mara threw her arms around her husband's neck and covered him with kisses. The whole movement was so swift it almost toppled Luke.

"Thank you!" She exclaimed happily.

"You don't have to thank me, Love, I miss him too." He answered, holding and kissing her back.

Entwining her arm with his, Mara asked: "Can we go, too?"

"You can go if you want, Mara, but I feel I must stay. I think I'm making progress regarding my visions." At Mara's questioning look, Luke continued. "I don't pretend to understand them yet, I still can't tell where's the relation between them, even though I feel there is one. I don't know when or how or why they'll come to be. But I'm calmer now, a bit more in tune. I can feel the answers getting closer. It's like if I reach a little further, I'll be able to grasp them."

"Is your feeling of the Force steadier now?" She enquired when they started their walk back.

"No, no really. There's still something partially blocking my sense of the Force. I'm still unable to find any real guidance in the Force, but it's closer."

"Do you think it's an effect of the venom that's still coursing through your body?"

"I'm not sure. I think it is…"

"Luke, it's only been three weeks since you were hurt. You need to be patient, you're doing very well as it is."

He nodded and fell silent, no doubt thinking of his most recent visions and discoveries. Just the day before, while meditating, Luke had had a horrible vision featuring his nephew torturing a teenaged Ben in the Embrace of Pain. That particular vision had greatly upset Mara. And then there was that last holo Artoo had shown them - the one where Anakin vowed to do whatever it took to keep Padmé safe, to keep her from dying, all because of a vision he had.

Luke found it ironic that he should find himself in a situation so akin to the one his father had faced. Faced and failed. Luke feared that, without proper guidance, he too would make the wrong choices and end up dooming his family.

Sensing Luke's mood darkening with concern, Mara interrupted his musings.

"I'll stay with you! Right now, you need me more than Ben does. In a few day we'll be reunited anyway… The three of us together, the way it should be." She said before planting a loving kiss on his cheek.

His answer was a thankful smile and a wistful kiss.

"I've been meaning to ask you it that part about my family was in your dream." Mara questioned curiously.

"You know, I really don't remember that part in my dream." Luke answered.

~.~

_Luke was standing in a cave._

_It was a huge cave, mostly covered in water. The air was warm and humid, no doubt a result of evaporation. Luke had no doubt that the water would feel warm, if he were to step inside._

_He heard a voice echoing through the cave. "I'm glad you came!"_

~.~

"Luke, Luke!"

Luke was brought back to reality with a startle.

"Luke, you didn't hear a word I said did you?"

It took a moment for the Jedi Master to find his bearings. He was sitting at a table outside his cliff side dwelling, it was a cold but sunny day. Wedge Antilles was sitting beside him, demanding his attention.

"Sorry, Wedge! I think I dozed off for a minute." He excused himself. He wasn't sure if what he had just seen was a dream or a vision, but he wasn't about to recount it to his friend. Wedge had enough on his mind.

"I was asking you how long before the kids arrive?" Wedge insisted.

"About four or five days. It kind of depends on how long it takes to pack up everybody." Luke answered.

Shelter had more than doubled its population during the two years the Jedi children had inhabited it, what with all the parents that had moved in as the war progressed. All those who weren't helping with the war effort had decided to just stay out its way.

The Errant Venture and its escorts had left a few days ago. Corran, true to his word, had gathered volunteers to form a squadron and a half, composed by Knights, Masters, a couple of veteran Rogues and even a stuffed Ewok.

Unfortunately for Wedge, he wasn't among them.

"Whatever possessed you to ask for permission, Wedge? Anyone could have seen that Kre'fey wasn't gonna give it to you."

"A general can't just go AWOL, Luke, even if it is to go pick up his daughters whom he hasn't seen in over a year and a half. As a Jedi Master, you really should know that!" Wedge replied grudgingly. "At least Iella got to go."

Luke's smirk answered for him.

"They'll be here before you know it." Luke said in a comforting tone. "And then, they'll hug you to death."

~.~.~.~

A couple of hours later Luke was sitting at that same table with Mara, Danni Quee and Magister Jabitha. He was telling them about his latest dream. The one he had had earlier that day at that same table.

"You saw an underground lake?" Danni inquired curiously.

"Yes, it was like a large cave, partially flooded and very warm. I think I'm meant to go there... Now if I only knew where there was." Luke confided. Mara was holding his hand supporting him, since there was nothing else she could do to help. She too had no idea where that place was.

"It is funny you should mention this place now. I got a report from a group of Ferroans a few days ago, who were exploring the area where the Great River sprouts out of the depths of the mountain. They said that the last jump to hyperspace scarred the mountain and that some of the water from the river was being diverted back inside, into large underground galleries. Since those mountains are volcanic, that could account for the water being heated. Maybe it's the place you're looking for?"

Luke was astonished. Was it that simple? Had the Force actually sent him a message he could understand? Whether this was the place or not, it was worthy of investigating.

As if she were reading his mind, Mara asked: "Can you draw us a map?"

-TBC...


	6. Chapter 6

**~ Chapter Six ~**

The Skywalkers arrived at their destination just after the sun had set. It really wasn't that far and with _Jade Shadow_ they got there in just over a half of an hour.

Mara landed the ship on the mountain top and they made their way down to the cave's entrance from there. Fortunately it was only about 50 meters downhill, but the dark and the snow around them made for a tricky path.

As they reached the first gallery, right where the Ferroans said it would be, Mara stopped and turned to her husband.

"I'll wait for you here." She stated, feeling that only Luke was meant to go inside.

Luke nodded. He too felt he had to continue alone. He took off his Jedi cloak and put it around her shoulders, over her own. "Start a fire and stay here." He advised her.

"Yes, Master!" She answered, smiling mischievously.

He could not resist kissing that smile. Then he turned, took out a glow rod and headed further into the cave.

~.~.~.~

It was deep within the cave that Luke found his destination. The air around him was comfortably warm and, as he lifted his glow rod, he could see the whole gallery from that spot. There were plenty of dry ledges around the lake and they seemed to provide easy access to the water - more or less like steps. It almost felt like the whole place had been designed with a purpose.

At that moment he heard the same voice from his vision.

"Good, you came! I wasn't sure if you got my message."

Luke turned to the source of the voice and wasn't surprised to see his father's glowing ghost.

"Father!" Luke spoke in an affirmative tone.

"Hello, Luke! It has been a long time." Anakin greeted his son and came closer.

Luke was at a loss for words. He hadn't seen or heard from his father in years and now, suddenly, there he was. Well, maybe not so suddenly, after all Luke had been thinking a lot about Anakin in the past few days, first on account of his visions, then after because of Artoo's holos. There were so many questions racing through his Force sense lately, Luke wasn't a least bit amazed Anakin had sensed his need.

Since Luke remained quiet, Anakin continued.

"I sense you're troubled."

Luke's first impulse was to bombard his father with questions about his mother. He wanted to demand explanations about Anakin's behavior towards Padmé and to accuse him of her death, but he realized that would lead him nowhere. For the first time Luke understood Obi-Wan's words when he said that Darth Vader had betrayed and murdered his father. He saw that the man, or rather the Force ghost, before him was Anakin Skywalker, the one who had been betrayed and that there was no point in accusing him of Vader's actions, especially since he had come to help. So he prepared himself to explain his confusing visions.

"Over the last two weeks, I've been having these…"

"I know!" Anakin interrupted his son. There was no point in Luke wasting time explaining what Anakin already knew.

Luke looked at him confused and Anakin explained: "I'm dead, Luke, I exist within the Force and I know all about your dreams and visions because they are messages from the Force."

"Then I was right." Luke said more to himself than to his father. He took a seat on a nearby slate and Anakin sat down in front of him and continued his explanation.

"There is no past or future when you're immersed in the Force like I am, so I'm fully aware of the events at stake here. They are not the Will of the Force."

That statement got Luke's full attention. "If they're not the Will of the Force, then why do they happen?"

"Because there are powers out there, feeding on darkness, that thrive on perverting the Will of the Force to suit their needs. I personally know all this because the Sith serve them, although sometimes unknowingly. I believe you have caught glimpses of one such entity in your visions."

"You mean the one that lives in the Maw." Luke inquired extremely preoccupied. His visions about this entity - he wasn't sure if he could call it a being - were the most confusing of all, just shreds of visions really, too faint to be even spoken of. He generally just felt surrounded by great darkness. His mind flew to thoughts of Ben and the other children who had stayed in Shelter.

Anakin was quick to pick up on his son's anxiety.

"Ben was not affected by her, he is too innocent. As for the other children, their well-being is dependent on keeping Abeloth's power restrained. She has been getting stronger during the war -, what with all the darkness residing in people's hearts - and before that during Palpatine's reign. But she is not ready yet. The coming years, with the Dark Nest, and after that the rise of of Darth Caedus, even his death at the hands of his twin. All these events will feed her to the point that she will make her move. And after she does, even if you're able to contain her, the darkness she will spread throughout the galaxy will take endless generations to control, if ever. And because that darkness will be fed back to her… Well you catch my meaning."

"What can I do, then?" Luke asked, all hope draining from him.

"You take one step at a time, handle one event at a time and, with the help of your allies, you push back the darkness for an entire generation. You can't do any more than that! But know that just as the dark strengthens Abeloth, the light weakens her, so for every day the galaxy spends immersed in light it becomes that much harder for her to maintain the strength she has gathered already." Anakin assured his son and added: "The Force trusts in you to guide the galaxy back to the light and will guide you in your assigned task. You must listen."

"But, Father, as of late I am having trouble seeking the guidance of the Force." Luke complained. He understood the grandeur of what was expected of him and now was having so many doubts about whether he was the right man for the job.

"That is why we are _here_! I am aware of your injury and of your recent difficulties. The remaining traces of venom that course through your body hinder you. You need to be cleansed."

Anakin then got up and directed Luke to rise also.

"Go into the water, Luke."

Luke took off his boots, removed his tunic and pants and entered the lake. The water was as warm as he expected. He closed his eyes and immersed himself completely in it. After a few seconds he felt his body beginning to float.

Luke could feel the Force surrounding him in the warmth of the water and, through his mind's eye, he saw Anakin entering the lake. Behind his father, Luke saw more glowing forms moving into the pool. He recognized Yoda, Obi-Wan, Anakin Solo and all his fellow fallen Jedi, he saw a woman, who looked so much like Mara it made his heart ache, others whom he remembered from holos and some he didn't know at all.

He felt the water's temperature rising and he felt it bubbling with the Force. It felt like the molecules of water were introducing themselves in him, mixing with his own cells, washing him from the inside out. It felt like he was dissolving in the Force. He sensed life starting and death ending. He felt the most overwhelming pain and the most astonishing pleasure. Within a moment, Luke saw eternity.

The power of the Force flowed through Luke and left him renewed.

~.~.~.~

When Luke came to, he was lying on the cave's rocky floor, his head cradled in Mara's lap, her bright green eyes looking at him with concern and her fingers caressing his wet hair.

"You had me worried there. How do you feel?" She asked.

He smiled at her and reached up to touch her face.

"I feel like I've just crossed the universe in a heartbeat."

~.~.~.~

"I felt the Force pulsating with power and when it stopped I knew it was time to come and get you. I found you floating in the water, unconscious but surprisingly in no danger of drowning. And before you ask - it's almost dawn." Mara explained while Luke took off his wet undershirt and picked up his tunic. He stopped when he noticed an intrigued look on Mara's face. She was looking at his chest.

Mara reached her hand to touch Luke's bare chest in the spot where his puncture wound had been. Just this morning it was still red and sore, barely healed. Now it was a mere white scar.

"Wow, whatever happened in here was better than all the healing trances and bacta patches in the galaxy." She said.

"Yeah, but not as good as your kisses." Luke replied mischievously.

"Good answer, Farmboy!" Mara snickered, slapping his chest lightly. "You _feel_ better." She stated approvingly, and then asked: "Did it help you?"

"Yes, it did!" He answered knowing she meant his search for answers. "I know what to do, now."

-TBC...


	7. Chapter 7

**~ Chapter Seven ~**

By the time Luke and Mara left the cave and returned to _Jade Shadow_, the sun had come up.

They were sitting in the ship's eating area, having their breakfast while Luke related to Mara his conversation with Anakin Skywalker and subsequent events. He told her how, during the cleansing ritual he had seen the events he was meant to prevent and their ramifications into the far future and they discussed the best course of action to be undertaken.

Mara was starting up the _Shadow_ in order to return to the settlement, when its com system began signaling an incoming call. It was Jaina Solo calling from the _Errant Venture_.

"Good morning, Aunt Mara, Uncle Luke! Just calling to let you know we've arrived at Shelter. The trip was smooth and I assess, by the way things are here, it should take us about a day and a half to pack up and start our return trip."

"Have you seen Ben, Jaina?" Mara asked expectantly.

"I have! He's great and the first thing he asked me about was you both. I told him we were all there especially to take him back to you and he gave me the biggest grin I ever saw."

Mara's heart tightened in her chest. She missed her little boy so much, she was just itching to hold him tight. Luke sensed her need through their bond, a need that matched his own, and before he even knew it, he was saying: "Jaina, relay to Booster that we'll rendezvous with you when you come out of the Maw. Be sure he waits for us."

"Will do, Uncle Luke!" Jaina answered with excitement and signed off.

When Luke turned back to Mara, she was literally glowing with joy. Not even a second passed before she threw herself in his arms and caught his lips in such a deep kiss it left him utterly breathless.

~.~.~.~

The wait was driving Mara crazy. They had been sitting there for nearly half a day, waiting for the Errant Venture to exit the Maw.

The Skywalkers had left Zonama Sekot right after Jaina's com call, making only a brief stop at the settlement for supplies, to pick up Artoo and to tell Leia where they were going. Leia was somewhat surprised at the suddenness of the decision, but thought it was for the best. Her brother could sure use the distraction. When Luke asked her if she'd like to come along, she excused herself with Han and the _Falcon_ thinking both Luke and Mara deserved a reunion with their son without more distractions than absolutely necessary.

Mara was fidgeting at the ship's control panel, checking the sensor's status and scanning the area for about the fiftieth time since their arrival.

"Calm down, Mara! That won't make them show up any sooner." Luke admonished his wife.

"They're late!" She protested. All that waiting was bringing up the most impatient side of Mara. "Do you think the _Venture_ broke down again?" She asked remembering just how unreliable the Star Destroyer's systems were.

"No, I don't. I think it just takes longer for a ship that size to navigate through the Maw." Luke reminded her.

"You're right." Mara conceded, leaning back in the pilot's chair and crossing her arms over her chest.

"I don't think I've ever seen you this nervous before, Mara."

"I've never _been_ this nervous before, not even at our wedding - and I was pretty nervous then." She admitted.

Luke offered her a smile and reached out his hand to her. Mara accepted his offered hand holding it tightly.

"It's been so long since we saw him last. Do you think he remembers us?" Mara asked, voicing her deepest worry.

Luke knew it was very possible that Ben didn't recognize them, after all it had been far too long since they had last held their son. Just before leaving on their quest for the living planet, Luke had agreed to make a detour through the Maw – a big detour considering it was in the opposite direction – because there was no telling how long their search would take, it could be years. In the end it had taken them almost a year to come back – way too long in their son's life.

"Jaina said he asked about us." Luke tried to sound reassuring. "Besides, that hair of yours is unforgettable."

That last remark brought a light smile to his wife's visage. She got up from the pilot's chair and sat on his lap just before placing a thankful kiss on his cheek.

"Have you considered that you managed to name our son after my uncle?" Mara asked recalling their recent discovery of her family's identity.

"I have! It only proves the point that the Force works in mysterious ways."

Mara snickered at him. "Only Master Skywalker would make a lesson out of naming a child."

At that moment Artoo's beepings informed them that the _Errant Venture_ had arrived.

~.~.~.~

The _Jade Shadow_ was directed to land in hangar deck number three, right next to a squadron and a half worth of X-wings.

As the Skywalkers came out, they were received by the _'official welcoming committee'_ composed of several children jumping up and down and screaming greetings at them. Behind them came Kam and Tionne Solusar accompanied by Corran Horn.

"Couldn't wait any longer, hey?" Corran teased while Luke and Mara greeted the Solusars.

"No, we couldn't!" Mara promptly admitted.

"Jaina went to get Ben." Tionne informed the newcomers.

Soon enough, there was a commotion by the entrance of the hangar as two-an-a-half year old Ben Skywalker showed up dragging both his cousin and a big stuffed Ewok.

As soon as Ben spotted his mother's red hair in the distance, he let go of his 'cargo' and ran as fast as his little two-an-a-half year old legs would allow him.

"MOMMY!"

Mara knelt on the floor to welcome her son in her arms. She felt her heart explode into tears that rushed down her face when he wrapped his little arms tightly around her neck.

Right behind her was her husband and as soon as Ben saw him he let out a "DADDY!" and reached to include him in his embrace.

So the Skywalkers stood there, all wrapped up in each other's arms, exchanging vows of everlasting love and to all the Force-sensitives around them, they presented a sense of burning light in the Force and of endless happiness.

~.~.~.~

The rest of the day was spent in amiable socialization. Ben wouldn't let his parents out of his sight and so the Skywalkers were forced to stay together in one place while the little boy showed and told them the story of every single object brought from the Maw. The older children also had many stories to tell and the ones who didn't have family members present were eagerly looking for news of them.

While looking around at them, Luke was struck by how fortunate those children had been for all of them had families to go back to. Some had lost their father, others their mother and others both, but they all had someone waiting to welcome them home and that, in itself, was a miracle.

~.~.~.~

Later that evening, Luke found his wife sitting in the dark in their assigned quarters couch - coincidentally the same quarters they had stayed in two and a half years earlier - leaning a bit to one side, her eyes closed. Cuddled on her lap was their son, fast asleep. Such an adorable sight.

Mara opened her eyes as Luke came closer.

"Tionne said we shouldn't let him sleep in our bed." At Luke's nod, she continued. "Tionne also said we shouldn't crawl in to his bed with him." Mara sighed holding Ben a little closer. "Problem is – I don't want to let go."

Luke sat down next to her and put his arm around her shoulders bringing her closer to him.

"I know exactly what you mean."

After a little while, they found themselves lying down on the couch, all three of them snuggled together, warm and comfortable. It occurred to Luke that lying there, with his beloved family in his arms, that was the perfect moment.

- TBC ...


	8. Chapter 8

**~ Chapter Eight ~**

The arrival of the _Errant Venture_ on Zonama Sekot was memorable. The children, after being confined to a space station for two whole years, took to the living planet like a caged avian takes to the great open sky. There was no corner left unexplored, no stone left unturned and nothing, not even the harsh cold, could dwindle their excitement.

This thirst for exploring was all the more noticeable in little Ben Skywalker. After all, the poor child couldn't remember ever seeing a tree. Watching him play with every single leaf that found its way into the boy's hands, it dawned on his parents that Ben had spent his entire life indoors, save for that time he had spent on Coruscant and after that on Borleias. Yes, that boy had a lot of catching up to do.

Ben also had a lot of catching up to do in regards to his extended family. When _Jade Shadow_ landed on Zonama, Ben was greeted by the entire Solo family at once – even Jaina who had landed her X-wing about five minutes earlier – and it was confusing. The Solos had been even more absent from the boy's life than his parents, not finding the time to visit him at all while he was on Shelter, but he did have some sense of them, particularly of his Aunt Leia. Although his stronger memories of her weren't exactly pleasant, now they felt better. They were really happy to see him, so it didn't take Ben long to warm up to the Solos. Especially when his Uncle Han promised him, between tickles and giggles, that he was going to teach Ben how to be a good Corellian – whatever that meant.

Ben also took to his cousin Jacen rather quickly, probably because Jacen knew all these funny games and showed Ben all these little animals no one else could find. But Ben could sense his parents' apprehension whenever he played with Jacen - something he couldn't understand and something they really tried to hide – so the little boy tried to appease them by running towards them at every minute they were around.

Luke and Mara were thrilled that their little boy had gotten used to them so fast. They loved to watch him while he explored his new surroundings, bringing to them every little thing he found. Luke had told Mara that, in his vision, Ben would shy away from the Force and then distance himself from them while growing closer to Jacen, so they sought out every opportunity to encourage their son to reach out to them physically and through the Force as well as to make up to him for all the time they were apart. And when they watched Ben happily play with his cousin – even though their hearts tighten at the memory of Luke's vision – they made the conscious decision of not interfering in Ben's bonding with Jacen, and they hoped that Jacen would never hurt Ben.

It was in one of those moments, in the morning after the children's arrival, when Ben rushed toward his father to show him the little insect he carried in his hand, that Jacen took the opportunity to talk to his uncle about his future plans. He knew this was a rare chance to catch his uncle alone – his aunt had gone back to Jade Shadow with his mother to arrange Ben's new quarters aboard the family ship, and all the other Jedi were still catching up with the students and their families - and he wanted to talk to Luke before the big reunion in the afternoon.

"Uncle Luke, could I have a word with you?"

"Of course, Jacen! What's on your mind?"

"I was wondering what you are planning for the future, for Jedi."

Luke looked at his nephew in anticipation. He had some idea of the course this conversation was going to take and every bone in his body was screaming _NO!_, but he paced himself and so in his stance nothing transpired.

"Well, Jacen, I think our first priority is to establish a new Headquarters for the Jedi and a new Academy. And after that, we'll see as we go along. There is much to be done and I believe it is our duty as Jedi to assist as best we can."

Jacen nodded as he understood his uncle's words. He also understood Luke's unspoken wishes that he, Jacen, should play a part in the rebuilding of the Order and of the galaxy. Unfortunately those were not Jacen's plans.

As Jacen grew quiet, Luke turned the question back to him hoping that, in forcing Jacen to voice his own plans, Luke would find some way to sway his nephew's arguments. "What are _your_ plans, Jacen?"

Encouraged by his uncle's interest, Jacen started explaining what he would like to do.

"I think I'd like to travel. To learn the ways of the Force from other Force-users like the Jensaarai and the Sunesi… Maybe even the Fallanassi."

"You want to seek out answers to your many questions." Luke stated, reading his nephew far better than Jacen might have wished.

"I guess." Jacen admitted.

Luke paused for a moment, giving Jacen the impression that he was pondering his wish, when in truth he was merely collecting his thoughts in order to present a strong argument to convince Jacen to stay.

Luke felt it was important that Jacen did not go on this trip. In his visions, Luke had gotten the impression that his nephew had come back a different man, a growing seed of the dark times he had been warned about. And there was that doubt, a hypothesis someone had formulated in that possible future – that during his travels Jacen had been exposed to Abeloth's dark influence and that his behavior was a form of Force psychosis. Even if that wasn't the case – that Jacen's behavior had nothing to do with his travels and was in fact a sole product of the torture and manipulation he had suffered during the war, or otherwise just an evolution of his own personality, either way it was essential that Luke kept a close watch on Jacen.

"It's funny you should mention the Fallanassi, Jacen." Luke continued after a while. "I once traveled all around the galaxy - you probably remember this - with a Fallanassi woman because she promised me the answers I was searching for… for nothing. Those same answers I found just a few days ago, and they were right under my nose the whole time."

Jacen looked at his uncle, understanding where he was going with this.

"You think I'd be wasting my time?"

"I think the answers you seek are not out there. I think they're in here." Luke patted Jacen's chest over his heart. "I think, Jacen, that you'll only find more questions out there."

"I need time, Uncle Luke, and space to myself."

"Yes, you do! But if you're looking to define yourself, you won't find it out there, Jacen. You'll find your true self among the people who love you."

"You think I shouldn't go." Jacen concluded, a bit disappointed.

Luke turned to him, and placing his hands on Jacen's arms, he made a final plea.

"It's your decision, Jacen. If you feel you must go, if you think the Force is telling you to go, then I will support your decision. But I'm going to ask something of you - I need you to pass on to the other masters, especially Cilghal, your molecular manipulation techniques and any other techniques you have learned from Vergere."

"All right Uncle, I will." Jacen agreed. He would have to postpone his plans to accommodate Luke's request, but he sensed this was an important matter. And after all, the galaxy would still be there when he finished his task.

Luke was satisfied with Jacen's answer. It would take a while for Jacen to teach the techniques to the others, and in the meantime Luke would watch him closely. Who knew, maybe Jacen would end up finding a good enough reason to stay.

~.~.~

That same day, in mid-afternoon, Luke gathered the Jedi in a clearing near the settlement.

Everyone was there, the Masters, the Knights, and the children all spread around the clearing waiting to hear what their leader had to say.

Luke stepped to the center of the large circle, looked around, taking the time to offer them all a friendly smile, and drew on the Force for inspiration.

"Welcome, my friends!" He started, holding his arms open as if embracing the small crowd. "We stand here today, at the end of a war that took so much from us, as survivors. And by survivors I mean not just that we lived to see the end of the conflict, but that we played our part in it, we did everything we could to bring it to an end."

Luke looked around once more, turning to face every single one of the people present.

"Yet, I do not see us as winners. There are no winners in a war, everyone loses. We lost friends and family. Many of us lost their home and our young" – he added now facing the survivors of the Myrkr strike team – "lost their innocence. But our pain brought us resolve to fight harder, do more and achieve what others thought impossible. By doing so, we honored our fallen and we became instrumental in ending the hostilities. And with the end of the hostilities comes a new stage in our lives and in the lives of our enemy."

Luke stopped for a moment.

"The Yuuzhan Vong will begin arriving on Zonama Sekot soon. As you know, the compromise they made to Sekot states that their society will, under Sekot's guidance, undergo significant changes, and the terms of surrender imposed on them imply that they help rebuild the worlds they destroyed. For that, some of their shapers will remain behind to collaborate with Galactic Alliance scientists in the Reconstruction Committee, starting with Coruscant. The spirit of collaboration is also present here, on Zonama Sekot, for the very first joint effort between Sekot and its new tenants is the restoration of the forests in the southern hemisphere, destroyed by the first reconnaissance team over fifty years ago. By agreeing to provide a home for the Yuuzhan Vong, Sekot bestows on them a vote of confidence they would, otherwise, be unlikely to get. It is a second chance for a whole people to reinvent itself and seek redemption."

Luke paused again to allow his words to sink in.

"Now that the war is over it's time for us, as an Order and as individuals, to ask ourselves where do we go from here and what is expected of us. Many of us have already found our path - at least our immediate path. Danni has found a home here and has been taken as an apprentice by Jabitha. Tahiri and Tekli also wish to remain on Zonama, to learn from Sekot and further their understanding of the Yuuzhan Vong. Tenel Ka, of course, will be returning to Hapes, to her many responsibilities as Queen Mother. Both Keyan Farlander and Madurrin have expressed their will in remaining attached to the GA Military under the command of Supreme Commander Kre'fey. Kirana Ti, Damaya and Streen have elected to continue their work on Dathomir. Kam and Tionne will remain as educators to our young ones." He continued, surreptitiously turning to Jacen. "As for the rest of us I believe that, as long as we remain true to ourselves and put our trust in the Force, we will undoubtedly find our path."

"With respect to the Order, it stands to reason that the next logical step should be the rebuilding of a home, a headquarters if you will. For fifteen years, Yavin 4 was home to the Jedi of the New Republic. You all took your first steps in becoming Jedi there and I understand that many of you would like to see us return. However, I don't believe that it would be our best course of action. I think we should close that chapter of the Order and move on to the next. Cal Omas has contacted me and expressed the GA government's desire to rebuild the Jedi Temple at Coruscant, as a sign of gratitude to the part we played in ending the war. Although I'm grateful for their acknowledgment and believe the Order should remain close to the center of government, I also think we should not find ourselves in a position to surrender our autonomy to that government. I believe our relationship with the Galactic Alliance Government should be one of cooperation rather than one of subordination. That is the main reason that, even though I accepted Cal Omas's offer regarding the Temple in the name of the Order, I refused to move the Jedi Academy to Coruscant. As a location for the Academy, I'm inclined to take in Kam's suggestion of moving it to Ossus. The world is a focus of Jedi History and the Force is strong there. The fact that it escaped destruction in the war only makes it all the more welcoming."

Luke fell silent again and then returned to his opening topic.

"This war has taken a heavy toll on us, we have lost more loved ones than we are willing to count. Our numbers, that of the Jedi, are reduced to barely half of what they were five years ago. We were hurt, tortured, betrayed... But we stood firm, and we learned! We learned that, at times it is necessary to step outside ourselves, outside our personal beliefs, in order to walk the path the Force assigns us. And with that, we learned that the Force is far more comprehensive than we realized - that the Force is One and it encompasses light and darkness, life as well as death. But from that we cannot assume that there is no dark side. Because the dark side resides within us. Anger is a natural reaction, fear warns us of danger and passion drives us forward. It's when we let these emotions dominate us, when we let them become wrath, panic or obsession that the dark side takes over. That is why it is most important that we seek guidance in the Force, for through the Force we can achieve the necessary clarity to evaluate our feelings and our actions."

Hoping he had made his point, Luke dismissed the Jedi.

"Thank you for your attention and I hope to see you all in three months, on Ossus."

-TBC...


	9. Chapter 9

**~ Chapter Nine ~**

Jagged Fel landed his Chiss clawcraft in the middle of Zonama Sekot's designated fighter landing area. He had been meaning to visit the living planet since right after the battle of Coruscant, but had to put it off due to his duties to the military. Now, finally, he was there. The fact that he had been asked to come, almost summoned, by Jedi Master Luke Skywalker did nothing to restrain Jag's enthusiasm.

He was just looking around, hoping to find someone, when that particular someone sneaked up on him from behind.

"BUUU!" Came a voice as two index fingers connected to either side of his lower back.

Jag's warrior instincts swiftly took over, as he suddenly turned and attacked his 'attacker'.

He found himself straddling Jaina Solo, who in turn was in the middle of a laughing fit.

"Jaina! Why would you do that for? I could have hurt you." Jag scolded his favorite Jedi.

"Hurt me, you? You need to eat a lot more nerf-stake to hurt me, Flyboy!" Jaina managed to answer between laughs.

"Nice to know you think so highly of me, Jedygirl." Jag added, smirking and faking offence.

Jaina batted her eyes while saying: "Are you gonna get off me, or are you just getting comfortable?"

Jag relaxed and looked into her big brown eyes while pretending to consider the question.

"Well, you _are_ a very comfortable kind of a seat, so I think-"

"Get off me, you big bantha!" Jaina demanded, making him hit the ground.

When their laughing outburst stopped, the two young pilots rested there on the ground, looking up at the sky until the cold coming from the ground under them made them get up.

They had started to walk towards the settlement when Jaina all of a sudden stopped and, capturing his face in her hands, planted a thankful kiss on a very surprised Jag's mouth.

"Thank you!" She started. "Aunt Mara said you wanted to come after me back in Coruscant, but stayed with them when she asked you to fly escort to the _Falcon_. She said you were a big help keeping the skippers off their backs."

At that statement, Jag looked to his feet feeling a little embarrassed.

"I would have disobeyed her, if the escape vessel hadn't taken off." He excused himself, before continuing. "I'm glad your uncle made it, he looked really bad back there."

"Yeah, it was tight."

"Anyway, I'm supposed to meet him here." Jag remembered.

"I think he and Aunt Mara were trying to give Ben a bath, so it might take a while." Jaina snickered. Her little cousin did not enjoy his baths and her aunt and uncle were so inexperienced at this, it was actually fun to watch as they wrestled their toddler son into the tub.

"So, where is everyone else? I thought this place was crawling with Jedi." Jag asked, looking around.

"You just missed everybody, they were all here two days ago." Jaina answered and then explained. "Mom and Dad left this morning – they're going to some sort of meeting with Pellaeon, Jacen is at Coruscant working with the World Brain, all the kids left with their families on vacation, some of the Knights and Masters left for Ossus and the rest went elsewhere. There's only a few of us left here."

"What about you, Jaina? Why are you still here?"

"Uncle Luke asked me to stay behind. I don't really know why." She said, once again wondering what was it her uncle wanted from her. "And you, what have you been up to lately?"

"My squadron was assigned to escort all the Yuuzhan Vong back to Coruscant, and now we're going to start bringing them here." He explained. Then he turned to Jaina and added. "When we're finished, I'm going back to Csilla."

"That's good! I bet you miss your family very much." Jaina declared, felling somewhat divided on his leaving. Would he ask her to come? Would she accept?

"I do, very much!" He admitted and then, feeling brave enough, he asked. "Come with me?"

Jaina was taken aback by Jag's proposal. It wasn't that she didn't expect it - it was more that she didn't automatically reject it. There was a side of her that wanted to go to Csilla with Jag. Unfortunately, it was her other side – the reticent side of her – that answered Jag.

"I can't, Uncle Luke needs me here. Plus we just got our whole family back together, it wouldn't do for me to leave now."

Jag was heartbroken by Jaina's dismissal of his proposal, but to be honest he wasn't really expecting her to accept. They stood there for a while, in an uncomfortable silence, until a little red-haired whirlwind began making his way towards them.

"JAYA!" Ben Skywalker called from the top of his little, but powerful lungs, just before being collected by his cousin's arms. The little boy's appearance had the effect of ending the restless quietness between the couple.

"Jag, have you met my cousin?" Jaina inquired while tickling the toddler into giggles.

"Why, no I haven't! Hello, little man, I'm Jag. What's your name?" Jag asked Ben while gently shaking his little hand in a greeting.

"Ben Sky-wal-ker." The boy answered carefully. Until a few days ago, his family name had been something along the lines of Skywer or Skyaler.

"Pleased to meet you, Ben Skywalker." Jag gave the boy his friendliest smile.

Just in time to hear the end of the exchanged greetings, came Luke Skywalker.

"Hi, Jag! How are you doing?"

"I'm very well, thank you, Master Skywalker!" Jag's greeting was as respectful as he would have given a seasoned general.

"I was showing Jag around the place." Jaina said and turned to leave the men who obviously had something important to discuss - although for the life of her, Jaina couldn't figure out what that could be.

"No, Jaina, stay. I need to talk to you." Luke stopped her on her tracks.

More confused than before, Jaina stared at him. Her uncle had been behaving very strangely lately, and even though he now seemed and felt much better, he still had reactions that puzzled all those around. Jaina was aware that the reason for Luke's strange behavior was a series of visions he had weeks before and now was wondering if this talk her uncle was about to have with her, and apparently with Jag, had anything to do with them.

Luke, in turn was wondering if this was a conversation he should be having in front of Jag. What he was about to ask of Jaina was touchy by nature, particularly because it involved the Chiss Ruling Families, and Jag might oppose the task all together. But the Force had beckoned him to ask Jag to come, and he knew that should Jaina need any help, Jag would be in the best possible position to oblige. So Luke decided, again, to trust the young man.

"Jaina, I have a mission for you. I learned, when we stopped at Csilla, that some of the Chiss Ruling Families have disappeared. I want you to go to Csilla and look into it."

Before Jaina had time to react, Jag interrupted.

"Master Skywalker, with all due respect, I don't see how this is a Jedi problem."

Since Luke was expecting this reaction, he was ready with a proper answer.

"I know you don't see it Jag, but if I'm right, this is very much a Jedi problem. And one the Jedi must resolve before it gets out of hand." Luke answered the young man.

Jag looked at the Jedi Master inquisitively.

"Does this have something to do with your visions, Uncle Luke?"

Turning to his niece, and wondering just how much information he could supply the youths, Luke nodded.

He didn't want to tell Jaina about Raynar Thul because he knew that the moment Jaina knew her old comrade was still alive, she would go to him, and Luke didn't want that. He wanted Jaina as far away from those bugs as possible, but Mara had pointed out that their niece was the only one among the Jedi that had a good enough reason to go to Csilla - that reason being Jag - and so it stood to reason that she should be the one to do this.

"Yes, it does, Jaina. In my visions I saw that the problem now afflicting the Chiss will spread to our borders and cause much harm. We need to take care of it before that happens. So I need you to go to Csilla and, discreetly, gather as much information about the situation as possible." Luke explained without revealing too much. Jaina thought he was being very mysterious.

"I don't understand why you're asking me to do this, Uncle Luke. Intel work is really not my specialty." Jaina argued.

This was an odd twist of events – just as soon as Jaina's restrained side had taken over and refused Jag's invitation, her uncle had come along and turned the table on her. Jaina was now wondering if the two men had pre-arranged the whole thing. And to add to the strangeness of the situation, Jaina found that her forthcoming romantic side was doing a little happy dance in her stomach, and the wholeheartedness with which Jaina was going along with the happy dance - weird, just weird.

Luke's answer came with a smirk, he no doubt had learned from his wife, and that made Jaina think he was very much aware of what was going on inside her stomach. His statement, however, showed none of it.

"Well, Jaina, think of it as a way for you to add to your many talents."

Flattery, sheer and unashamed, Jaina thought wryly. But it was working.

Because this was the perfect excuse to have Jaina going with him to Csilla and because he _did_ trust Master Skywalker's judgment, Jag argued the point no longer. In fact, he found himself supporting Luke's decision.

"If I'm aloud, Master Skywalker, I offer my assistance to Jaina and to the Jedi." With that statement, Jag offered his hand to seal the deal.

"Thanks, Jag. To be honest I was going to ask it of you. And I thank you for your trust in me and the Jedi, I assure you it is not misplaced." Luke said while accepting Jag's hand.

Turning to Jaina, Luke added. "You two can leave together when Jag has finished his duties here." Then he turned back to Jag. "I know we'll talk before you leave, so see you soon."

Luke then called to Ben who had busied himself chasing after a small furry mammal, and left the couple to themselves.

"I suggest you pack warmly." Jag advised, not even trying to hide his wide grin.

"Wipe that grin off your face, Flyboy! I'm going on a mission." Jaina turned away from him and towards her assigned shelter.

Running to catch up to her, Jag replied. "There are no rules stating you can't take pleasure in a mission."

Jaina turned and tripped him, making Jag fall to the ground. Then she took off running in the opposite direction, laughing out loud at her childish jest.

Jag got up again and chased her all over the settlement, replying to her laughs with his own.

-TBC...


	10. Chapter 10

**~ Chapter Ten ~**

Leia Organa Solo was staring at the moss painting hanging over her cabin's bunk. It had been hanging there for weeks but she was still getting used to it. Not to the painting itself because she had grown up with it but to the fact that, after so many years, it had found its way back to her.

The _Millennium Falcon_ was now in hyperspace, having left Kashyyyk four standard hours earlier, on its to Naboo. That was another incredible twist of fate in Leia's life, that after so many years she knew the identity of the woman who had given birth to her and Luke – Senator Padmé Amidala Naberrie, former Queen of Naboo.

Leia had heard that name several times, first from her father – her adoptive father – then later during her term as Junior Senator she had become friends with Pooja Naberrie, Padmé's niece. She had actually written a school term assignment about Queen Amidala while in school – Leia remembered now it had been her father's idea. Of course, that assignment had been researched and written almost forty years earlier and had been destroyed along with Alderaan, so Leia had spent the last few weeks researching her mother's life and trying to get in touch with Pooja. It had been a pleasant task, fitting for such a time when the body and mind craved peace and rest. Now they were going to meet the family – she and Han, along with Threepio, in the _Falcon_ and Luke with his family in _Jade Shadow_, in Artoo's faithful company.

Han and Mara, true to their Corellian heritage, had actually turned the trip into a race and since there was no way the _Falcon_ was going to lose to the _Shadow_, Han was keeping a close eye on the hyperdrive. That gave Leia some extra time for contemplating her life and she found herself thinking of her children.

Her entire family had been together just a few hours earlier, on Kashyyyk for the Honor Your Dead Ceremony, where they had paid their respects to Chewbacca and Anakin, but now they had gone their separate ways – Jaina had left with Jag to Csilla and Jacen had taken up Tenel Ka's invitation to spend his down time in Hapes. And Anakin, her little boy, he had moved on years ago, but sometimes Leia could feel him with her in the Force and she had no doubt he had helped to guide the rest of the family to safety.

"Hyperdrive is going like a charm!" Han interrupted her train of thought.

"That's great, Sweetheart." Leia answered still distracted.

"You were far away, weren't you?" Han noted.

"I was thinking about Anakin… Sometimes it's like he's here with me."

Han stretched out his hand to caress his wife's face. There was no pain on her face like it had been until recently, when thinking of their younger son. There was longing, but no more pain.

Han remembered how hard Leia had taken their son's death. He himself had not taken it so hard since his heart was still numb from losing Chewie, but it still had burned a hole in his soul. This had been a tough war on their family, but still it could have been so much worse. What with the endless missions Jaina had flown and those terrible months when Jacen was captured, even in that one final battle they had come so close to losing Luke, and yet they had come out of it safe and mostly sound. Countless beings had lost everything, so they were lucky for they still had most of their family.

Now, as the healing started, their personal pain dimmed to give room to loving memories of their lost loved ones.

"Yeah! He would have gotten a kick out of Sekot's living ships." Han had a mental picture of his son tinkering with those ships.

"He would have found a way to bond with all the seed-partners and there would have been none left for the other Jedi." Leia said between chuckles.

They stood quiet for a moment after that and Han took advantage of the time to wrap Leia in his arms and nibble her nose after which she rested her head against his chest.

"I wish he could have seen it." Leia said, looking in the direction of the painting.

"I bet his reaction to it would have been… interesting."

That painting, Killik Twilight, had drawn the most varied reactions from the family. While Leia loved it because it reminded her of her childhood, Han only tolerated it for Leia's sake – he really didn't like bugs, Jacen had found it very interesting and subject to multiple interpretations, Jaina had just stared at it dumbfounded, Mara appreciated it for the fine example of art that it was, Ben was more interested in touching and pulling out the moss and Luke… Luke had actually gotten shivers from looking at it – apparently he didn't like bugs either.

"More interesting than Luke's?" Leia asked, remembering her brother's stance.

"I think Luke had a good reason for that. He's been dreaming about bugs." Han explained.

"How do you know that?" Leia inquired.

"I overheard him talking to Jag yesterday." At Leia's questioning look, he added while directing her towards the ship's common area and the couch stationed there. "Jag was saying that the Chiss have been employing killiks as troops in their battles for years and that they were harmless, but then Luke said that the killiks were changing their behavior and that they already had caused the disappearance of some Chiss families and that Jag and Jaina were to gather all available information on them. Then Luke made a point of saying that Jag was to keep Jaina away from the bugs."

Leia's look turned to disbelief.

"The Chiss are having a killik problem? What does that have to do with us?"

"Remember when Luke found out about your mom? He said he'd seen it as part of a larger picture - that of a war?" At Leia's nod, Han continued. "I guess the bugs have something to do with that war."

Leia had to agree. It would be just like her brother to try to put an end to a war that hadn't started yet.

"I thought Jaina was just going with Jag to be with Jag."

That statement put a troubled look on Han's face. He really wasn't ready for its implications.

"You think they're serious?" He asked.

"I think it has a lot of potential, I've never seen Jaina this happy. She tried to hide it but… I'm her mother, I can tell."

"I should have cornered that boy when he first started looking at my daughter!" Han stated, not happy at all.

That overprotective dad side of Han made Leia smile.

"Come on Dad, better him than anyone else. He's a good boy… and he's a Corellian. You really should be happy."

Han stretched and brought the love of his life into his arms. He desperately needed some cuddling.

"I don't wanna think about it." He grunted.

"Well, you'd rather think about Jacen? Alone in Hapes, with Tenel Ka." She defied him.

"First of all, Your Highnessness, they're not alone - plenty of Hapans around. And on top of that, let her own father worry about 'em."

"You chauvinist nerf!" Leia retorted, removing herself from his embrace.

"Hey, come back here!" Han demanded as he reached again for his wife.

"Only if you apologize."

"Ok, ok, Princess! I'm sorry!"

"For what?"

"For making you jump away from me. Now, come back!"

"No! Say you're sorry for what you said."

"I didn't say anything wrong!"

"You're hopeless." Leia stated before getting up and leaving him alone.

"What!" Han demanded as he followed her into their cabin. He got there just I time to watch the blast-door slam shut in his face. "I better check on that hyperdrive." He mumbled to himself and returned to the engine room.

- TBC...


	11. Chapter 11

**~ Chapter Eleven ~**

It was a warm night in the Hapan royal city and the Queen Mother was strolling through her private garden in the company of her dear friend.

"I'm so glad you came, Jacen." She said taking his hand into hers and squeezing it.

Tenel Ka had been flirting with Jacen all evening and Jacen found himself enjoying her attention. His childhood friend had grown into a most beautiful woman. She had dismissed her personal guard and was leading him to a secluded corner of the garden.

"So am I. This is probably the most beautiful place I've ever been. And you are definitely the best company, Your Majesty." Jacen added, teasing Tenel Ka with her title.

"So, tell me friend Jacen, how long can you stay?"

"Uncle Luke expects us to meet on Ossus in two months. I'm all yours until then." He answered, grinning.

"Wonderful!"

At a flick of her hand, a soft music started to play. Jacen couldn't find it's source but that didn't trouble him. He knew it was just something Tenel Ka had prepared for their evening.

"Dance with me, Jacen." Tenel Ka asked in a low voice, taking both his hands in hers.

Jacen happily obliged. He placed his right hand over the small of her back and took hold of her right hand in his left. Slowly they swung together to the sound of the flowing song.

The _Millennium Falcon_ beat the _Shadow _to Naboo, but only by half a minute. The two families landed on Theed and were greeted by their cousin Pooja Naberrie who had eagerly been waiting their arrival.

Pooja led the Solos and the Skywalkers through the capital city to the Naberrie family home, introduced them to all the remaining family members and then took them to the quarters she had arranged for them, so they could rest and freshen up.

Later at dinnertime, the whole family relished in exchanging stories. Luke and Leia were delighted to hear that the Naberries, even thought they didn't know of Padmé's and Anakin's secret wedding, knew many stories concerning the two star-crossed lovers. As for the Skywalker twins, they explained to the Naberries all about how they had found each other and also how they had found out the truth about their parents.

It was during dinner, while listening to Artoo's account their first meeting with Anakin – translated by Threepio - that Pooja's oldest granddaughter, six year-old Winama, made the funniest connection yet.

"If Anakin made Threepio, does that make him your brother?" She asked and her earnestness drew chuckles all around the table. Mara, particularly, had a really hard time keeping hers from evolving into full blown laughs and Han actually choked on the tender meat and struggled to catch his breath.

"I guess it does, Winnie." Luke answered the little girl between his own chuckles.

Threepio, standing next to Artoo, over on one end of the table, would have looked shocked, or even more shocked, if his metal features permitted it.

~.~.~

After leaving Kashyyyk, Jagged Fel and Jaina Solo made their way to Borleias. They were rendezvousing with the Antilles there, so they could all go together to Csilla. Wedge Antilles had just acquired a modified VCX-350 freighter, which he planned to transform into the official Antilles family vessel, and the very first trip he had planned was to, finally, visit his sister.

The ship had been part of the Peace Brigade's fleet, and therefore had been apprehended by the Galactic Alliance, so Wedge had pulled rank on everybody to land the ship at the bargain price of 100.000 credits. It had the added advantage of having luxuriant quarters and abundant cargo space - the main cargo hold was actually big enough to accommodate two X-wings, or in this case Jag's clawcraft and an X-wing, whether it would be Jaina's or Wedge's had been a point of argument between Wedge and his wife Iella. Eventually Iella had won the argument when she pointed out that if Wedge were to bring his X-wing, he would be sleeping in it.

"Welcome to _Wedge's Gal_, kids!" Wedge greeted them upon arrival. The ship's brand new name drew chuckles from all the Antilles girls – mother as well as daughters – apparently there was now one more of them.

"Thank you, General!" Jag answered.

"Please, Jag, the war is over and I'm officially retired – again. Please call me uncle – or Wedge. If I never hear the word _general_spoken to me again, it will be too soon." Wedge replied to his nephew before turning to the young woman next to him. "How are you, Jaina?"

"I'm very well, Gen- Wedge!"

"Thank you!" The former general mouthed to her while his wife Iella asked "What's your family been up to? I haven't heard anything from them since Zonama Sekot took off."

"They're on Naboo, now - discovering their origins. But Jacen went to Hapes. I guess we, the younger generation, are already in touch with our origins." She snickered.

The younger Antilles girls were buzzing around the clawcraft, which was set next to Jaina's X-wing, admiring its foreign and elegant design – one they were not familiar with – when their father signaled towards the two fighters and said it was time to get moving.

Because it was easier, they decided to take off all three ships and load the two fighters into the _Gal's_hold in orbit, just before departure for Csilla. While the two fighter pilots were docking in the cargo hold, the Antilles couple was monitoring the maneuver and commenting about the perfect synchrony of it.

-TBC...


	12. Chapter 12

**~ Chapter Twelve ~**

Tenel Ka was looking out the window of her royal chamber, her stance deep in thought. Lying on the bed, still asleep and with his head hidden under the covers, was her longtime friend - and now lover – Jacen.

She was remembering how their relationship was growing before the war started – then they were a little more than friends, but hadn't taken that step towards a new kind of involvement. Then the war began and their personal lives had been put on hold.

But that step had finally been taken and their relationship had evolved over the past weeks. It was now as close as humanly possible or, at least, it was on her part for Jacen still felt a little guarded to her.

_'It's only natural!' _She was thinking. _'With all Jacen went through, he's not entirely comfortable with our relationship.'_

Now a new connection was reveling itself and Tenel Ka was wondering if it was even fair to Jacen, to have him make that sort of commitment, it could prove to be too much, too soon. But it was done, and she believed it even more unfair to keep it from him.

In the bed, her lover stirred and then blinked.

"Good morning, my lover." She greeted him, coming closer and sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Hi!" He greeted her back, blinking some more to adjust his eyes to the light that was flooding the room. Noticing Tenel Ka was fully dressed and how high in the sky the sun was, he asked - "What time is it?"

"It's almost lunchtime, sleepyhead." She teased him. Jacen had been sleeping a lot since his arrival, it seemed his body was craving the rest it had been denied during the war, but she didn't mind, for when Jacen was with her, she had his undivided attention.

"I bet your day started hours ago." He stated while rising to a seated position.

She nodded and took his hand, then her face turned serious as she pondered how she would break the news to him.

Noticing the change on her face as well as the concern in her Force sense, Jacen asked: "What's wrong dear? Did something happen this morning?"

"No, Jacen, something happened last week." To his inquiring eyes Tenel Ka continued. "I'm pregnant!"

Jacen's previously inquiring eyes widened and his jaw dropped. He had not seen that coming at all. Tenel Ka just sat there, patting his hand and waiting for him to collect himself. She didn't have to wait long, soon his agape mouth curved up and turned into a very wide grin.

"I'm gonna be a father!" He blurted out after a while. "Tenel Ka this is great… I need… We need… We have to marry."

_'Ok, maybe I need to wait a little more. He's obviously still out of it.''_ Tenel Ka thought and waited until Jacen settled down. He had already held her several times and was now passing the room frantically. Finally she had to reach out to him and have him sit on the bed again.

"We can't marry, Jacen." She stated very serious.

Jacen felt like she had pulled the rug from under his feet.

"What? Why not?" His handsome features turned to ice.

How could she phrase it without breaking his heart? Tenel Ka loved Jacen above all others, but now she had her child to think about.

"I thought you loved me. What was I to you, Tenel Ka? Did you just use me for pleasure and now want me gone?" Jacen threw back at her, accusingly.

"No! No, Jacen. I do love you! But you don't understand my situation – my people will never allow me to marry you." She tried to explain. His words hurt her, but she knew she had hurt him too. "Please, my love, let me explain!"

As he quieted down, Jacen signaled her to continue.

"I'm sure you know, Jacen, that the Hapan people - especially the noble caste - are wary of Jedi. They are agreeable to me because I am also Hapan and they've known me all my life. They tolerated my mother because, even though they knew she was a Force-user, she was not a Jedi and she was kind to them. But I'm afraid they won't tolerate a Jedi as my consort. I've been trying to change their minds, but it takes time. And no one must know you are the baby's father."

"You are denying me my child?" Jacen asked, his voice struggling under the pain he was feeling.

"No, my darling! I'm just saying we can't let anyone know. We must keep this a secret at all costs." It was Tenel Ka's turn to stand up and pace the room. The anguish she was feeling was clear in her Force sense and it made Jacen take pause in his own pain.

"You don't understand how these people are. They're always plotting to take me out, Jacen – my own family - our child will be in enough danger for being mine, if they find out she's yours…" Tenel Ka's eyes were filling with tears and Jacen, having put his own pain aside, stood up and held her close. She went on talking in his arms. "I'll have to go into seclusion to keep this a secret. Then… I don't know!"

"It will be alright, my darling! We'll think of something. I'll make sure our baby is kept safe." He whispered as he stroked her hair. "Can you tell if it's a boy or a girl, yet?" He asked both to direct her attention to something else and because he really wanted to know.

"No, not yet! But I have a feeling that it's a girl."

~.~.~.~

This vacation was doing wonders for the Solos and the Skywalkers. They felt refreshed and rested and happy. By this time they had visited all of Naboo's most prominent sites as well as the minor ones that featured in their family's background. They visited the lake where Padmé and Anakin were wedded and they visited Amidala's tomb where Luke and Leia, accompanied by Han, Mara, and little Ben, paid their respects to the woman who had given birth to them.

Now they were hanging out by the natural pool, situated at the far end of the Naberrie family estate. Well, the women were by the pool, comfortably sitting under a big garden tent, while the _'boys'_ were in the water splashing and making a whole lot of noise - their excuse was that they were teaching Ben how to swim.

"Sometimes I wonder who's the child there." Leia stated, watching as Han threw himself backwards into the water, making Ben's laughter explode.

"I'm starting to think they are all the same age." Mara snickered back.

As Leia doesn't continue, Mara turned to her sister-in-law and found her holding her hand to her chest, her attention turned inwardly.

"Something wrong, Leia?"

"I just felt a pang from Jacen, but it passed. It's alright now." She answered, relaxing and reaching for her drink.

"Do you think something happened to him?" Mara questioned with obvious concern.

"I think what ever it is, he's in control of it. I will not worry."

Mara's apprehension did not escape Leia and she recalled that both her brother and his wife were exhibiting much concern over Jacen's general behavior lately. Leia believed that it had to do with Luke's visions, that he had seen something dark in Jacen's future path, but no matter how much Leia pushed for answers, none of them were disclosing any information about it.

Since Leia didn't elaborate further, and she didn't want to push, Mara decided to steer the conversation in another direction.

"Have you felt anything from Jaina?"

Leia smiled as she recalled the latest feelings she had gotten from her daughter.

"The sense I get from Jaina keeps switching from warm and fuzzy to utterly frustrated." Turning towards Mara, Leia continued. "I'm hoping that the warm and fuzzy feelings are due to Jag and the frustration is due to what ever it is Luke sent them to do, and not the other way around, for my daughter's sake."

"Yeah, right!" Mara said not very convincingly. Considering the importance of the investigation Jaina was conducting, she wasn't sure which one would be better as the source of the frustration.

~.~.~.~

Jaina Solo and Jagged Fel had been at it for almost a month, but the investigation was going nowhere. The only thing they had found out was that two ruling families had been absorbed into the killik nests – that was it, nothing else.

Everyone they talked to and every path they took was a dead end. Not even General Fel, Jag's father, would help them - he just said the situation was under control and they shouldn't worry about it.

Jaina was about to call it quits and head back, maybe catch up with her family on Ossus when, out of nowhere help appeared in the person of Evlyn Tabory. Evlyn had met Jaina's aunt and uncle several years earlier, when they had been invited by the Chiss to assist in the recovery of the Outbound Flight. She had been a child then, a Force-sensitive child whose family had been very concerned with keeping her gifts secret from the others, and had been fascinated by the sudden appearance of the two Jedi.

Luke had even invited Evlyn to Yavin 4 for Jedi training, but her mother had disallowed it, so the girl had grown up within the Empire of the Hand and when it was absorbed by the Ascendancy, she and her family had moved to Csilla.

When Evlyn learned that her best friend Wynsa's brother and Luke and Mara Skywalker's niece were looking for information on the killik situation, she immediately began collecting all she could, and given her current position as a trainee in the Chiss Intelligence Office, it was not scarce.

They were now aboard _Wedge's Gal_, along with the Antilles couple who had been included in the investigation, studying astral charts of several sectors in the Unknown Regions trying to figure out just where was the killik main nest located. That was one piece of information that was far above Evlyn's security clearance.

"All right, we know for sure the killiks started by occupying several planets in this system." Evlyn said, pointing to the three dimensional chart. "But for the last year they spread to the surrounding systems and have now taken over the entire sector."

"We need more information so we can begin to narrow this down, there are way too many planets here, not to mention moons, and didn't you say there's a report that says they had occupied an asteroid?" Jag asked the girl, his eyes on her making Evlyn blush.

"I can try to get that information but I'd have to slice through the CIO main computer's many firewalls from inside the Office and, of course, not during regular hours - I'd have to break in." She babbled and Jaina suppressed a giggle. The younger girl was so obviously infatuated with Jag, it wasn't even funny - it was cute, though - and Jaina could completely understand, after all she had come to embrace her own feelings for Jag during the last month and secretly thanked her uncle every day for insisting she'd come to Csilla. Remembering her uncle made Jaina pay attention to the conversation around her.

"We can't ask you to do that, Evie, you've already put yourself on the line too much giving us all this." Jaina stated. "You'll be in serious trouble if anyone finds out."

"Jaina's right, Evie." Jag said. "We'll find another way."

"Well, if we think this through rationally, it would make sense that the main nest would be located in the original colony." Wedge stated, going in to his _general _mode. "On the other hand, it also stands to reason that, if the killiks are moving it's because they've exhausted their original colony's resources, so -" He pointed at a particular area in the chart and then zoomed in on it. "- I think they would move it to the closest lush planet that could sustain the nest."

"And according to the data Evlyn brought, it should be somewhere around here." Iella concluded her husbands thinking and highlighted an area on the chart.

All five of them stood and looked at the highlighted area - there was only one thing that could be done.

"We have to go there!" Jaina voiced their conclusion. "Find out on which of those planets the nest is."

- TBC...


	13. Chapter 13

**~ Chapter Thirteen ~  
**

The sun was coming up when Luke Skywalker was awakened from his sleep by the sound of giggles. He opened his eyes to find that the source of those giggles was a rather big lump hidden under the covers and lying over his sleeping wife's abdomen.

Luke proceeded to lift the covers a bit to look at the giggling lump and asked: "Ben, what are you doing?" He was answered by more giggles.

Since being reunited with his parents, Ben had developed the habit of sneaking into his parents' bed during the night. Mara or Luke would put him down in his own bed where he would sleep all he had to sleep and when Ben woke up, usually just before dawn, he'd pick up his stuffed bantha and favorite blankie and snuggle between mommy and daddy.

"You'll wake up mommy, Ben. Just lie down and be quiet." Luke quietly admonished and directed his son to lie down.

Ben stubbornly refused and rested his head on his mommy's abdomen.

"Mommy's belly tickles, Daddy!" Ben told between more giggles.

"Huh, what?" Sometimes Luke had trouble following his son's trail of thought. "That's last night's dinner, pal. Now come on, lie down and be quiet or you'll wake up Mommy."

"Too late. Will you two shut up?" Mara grunted in a very drowsy tone. "Come here sweetie!" She said grabbing hold of her son and pulling him to her chest. "Let's all go back to sleep, ok?"

"Your belly tickles, Mommy." Ben informed her after giving his mommy her good morning kiss.

Something in Ben's tone made her take notice of what he was saying. She quickly used the Force to run a quick checkup of her lower abdomen, like the ones she used to do before Ben was born. What she found stunned her beyond belief.

~.~.~.~

Jaina Solo and Jagged Fel were approaching the so called Yoggoy planet, number seven on the list of planets Wedge and Iella had signaled as more likely to be the home of the killiks' main colony, each pilot flying in his or hers fighter of choice. Behind them came the _Wedge's Gal_, with Evlyn and the Antilles couple on board, their children left behind at the Fels to make excuses for the grownups absence and run interference. It had been previously decided that the _Gal_ was to remain on the edge of the system as backup and only come in if necessary. The reconnoiter flight would be up to the two fighter pilots.

When they drew closer to the planet, they noted the activity around it. The planet's orbit was buzzing with pointy fighter sized ships and a number of bigger transports of Chiss design as well as some ships that clearly had come from the Galactic Alliance.

"I feel like a party crasher." Jag's voice affirmed through the fighter's com system.

"Not our fault they forgot to invite us." Jaina answered him back. "Sneaky, give me a complete readout of all those ships, quality and quantity, please." She then asked her brand new R2 unit.

As the list scrolled through her screen, she whistled acknowledging its extent. This corner of space was far more active than all the previous planets they had searched beforehand.

"I think we found the main nest." Jag's said voicing her own thoughts.

"It seems so." She agreed. "But still, let's take a closer look. I'd feel more confident if we could land and see the place for ourselves."

Remembering Luke's warning about keeping Jaina away from bugs, Jag tried to stop her but, naturally she wouldn't listen. Before they knew it, whole squadrons of those pointy fighters were coming their way.

When Jaina noticed the squadrons approaching, she tried haling them, explaining they were just passing through and hoped to refuel. Suddenly, a kind of pressure started building in the back of her skull, a million voices invaded her Force sense inviting her to land while another million ordered her to leave immediately. The pressure grew more and more unbearable until Jaina, not being able to stand it, passed out.

~.~.~.~

Luke immediately sensed her shock through their bond and stared at her, afraid to ask what was wrong.

Of course, he didn't have to ask the question out loud because Mara could clearly see it his eyes and his Force sense. She searched for the best way to break the news to him.

"Tell me, Skywalker, in those visions of yours, what did you see for our near future… As a family, I mean?

He looked at her inquiringly and searched his memories of the visions. There was Ben hiding from the Force and then becoming informally apprenticed to Jacen. There was that seed of doubt, towards Mara, that the Dark Nest had placed in Luke's mind and had put an extra strain in their marriage. But those events were five to six years into the future - he had no memory of anything happening in the near future.

Luke shook his head in confusion and decided to just run his own checkup of his wife. When he found what she had found, his mouth and eyes opened wide.

"Did you see anything resembling that in your visions?" She asked, amused by the look on his face.

"No, I did not!" He stated, his mouth curving into a huge grin.

Just when Luke was about to reach his arms out to his wife and start celebrating the news, Ben - feeling like he had been forgotten by both his parents - began tugging at his mommy's nightgown demanding attention and food. Luke picked the boy up instead and got up from the bed while Mara reached for her robe and donned it. There was no way a they would be able to fall back asleep after that.

"It must have been that bath then - it stirred up your little skycrawlers." She said, finding the thought very amusing.

Luke shrugged not sure as how to answer, and then asked remembering a certain threat Mara had made to him back when she had been pregnant with Ben.

"Am I still getting vaped?"

"Let's just say you get a suspended sentence to be reassessed in a few months." She answered while wrapping her arms around his waist and planting a sweet kiss on his mouth and another on their son's forehead.

When Jaina came to, she was back aboard the _Gal_. Hanging over her were Wedge, Iella and Evlyn, looking very concerned. As she sat up she found Jag just behind them, obviously still mad at her for not listening to him. He held out a cup of sugar water and ordered her to drink.

She obeyed, her brain still pounding inside her skull made for a good reason to not argue.

After she started feeling better, they explained how, after her collapse, Sneaky had taken over and flown her back to the ship while Jag took care of the incoming squadrons. It hadn't been hard since whoever was flying those fighters obviously only meant to drive them away.

"What happened to you out there, Jaina?" Jag asked, his concern for her now taking over.

"It was like every single creature out there was yelling at me at the same time. The pain was unbearable." She explained then paused.

Looking strait into Jag's eyes, Jaina added after a while.

"Uncle Luke was right, this is a Jedi problem. There is at least one Force-user down there and he or she is taking over the whole colony. I have to go back home and relate to Uncle Luke and the Jedi what we have found here because this situation spells trouble no matter how we look at it."

The others looked at each other and nodded.

"We'll go with you." Wedge finally said, seeing that everyone agreed.

After feeding Ben and watching him fall asleep on the couch, and since the family breakfast downstairs was still an hour and a half away, Mara decided it was a good time to slip into the shower, wash her hair and run a more complete scan of her newfound '_situation_ '. She left Luke watching their slumbering child and proceeded to the refresher.

Under the hot running water, and after thoroughly rinsing her hair, Mara turned her full attention inwardly to her womb, sensing the little cluster of cells growing within. She sensed her life signature in them, as well as Luke's – just like when she was expecting Ben – and then there was something… odd about them, something she couldn't put into words.

Luke, who obviously was keeping tabs on her through the Force, was at her side only a few seconds later.

"What's wrong, Mara? Is something wrong with the little one?" He asked, his anxiety spilling out of him through the Force.

Mara looked at him, once again trying to find the words to explain, but utterly failing.

"Calm down, Luke! You're making me nervous." She admonished him. "I don't think there's anything _wrong_, just odd." She then answered trying to calm him.

"What do you mean _odd_?" He demanded.

"I can't explain any better Luke! It feels different from Ben, only not wrong."

"Maybe it's a girl?" Luke hoped. He liked the idea of having a girl.

"I can't tell yet, but I'm pretty sure that is not the reason for the _oddness_." Mara stated, getting out of the shower and wrapping herself in a big fluffy towel. Luke's nerves were starting to annoy her as she was starting to have flashbacks to his more overprotective times.

"Well, then, we'll leave today to consult with Cilghal." He decided right there and then, and his tone offered no chance of argument.

Not that Mara would argue, since she was about to suggest the same thing. Instead she surrendered to his arms and allowed him to kiss her worries away.

~.~.~.~

Jacen Solo was running the pre-flight check on his Y-wing, preparing to leave Hapes. He had said his good-byes to Tenel Ka earlier that day and was now moving to Ossus.

He had spent the last week oscillating between deepening his bond with Tenel Ka and arguing with her about the future of their child. Now he felt drained again, his heart tightening at the thought of leaving them behind.

They had pressed this point vehemently. Jacen wanted to stay with her – with them – and be present for every stage of Tenel Ka's pregnancy but his lover was adamant – Jacen had to leave – if he were to stay he would draw far too much attention onto them, and Tenel Ka needed to be inconspicuous, hide her pregnancy for as long as possible so she could spend as little amount of time in seclusion later as possible. Her original intent was to prolong her pregnancy for a year, using an old Dathomiri technique used by her ancestors to prevent births during the harsher seasons, thus hiding the father's identity but Jacen had talked her out of it stating she did not have enough knowledge of the technique and, with no one to guide her through it, if something were to go wrong it would be disastrous for the baby.

Having settled that dispute, and seeing that Jacen didn't want to be kept out of the loop, they had worked together to help him open himself completely to Tenel Ka, thus forging a bond that would transcend space and bring them closer even if they were in opposite sides of the galaxy. It had been hard – so much harder than one would have guessed – to open the darkest corner of his mind to her, the place where he kept his most secret pains and memories and to feel her dive into that darkness. Jacen wanted to push her back, protect her and their child from this dark corner and keep his pain private, but if he did that he wouldn't be opening himself to the depths of Tenel Ka's being and to their child growing inside of her.

So Jacen had done it. Now he could turn within himself and be aware of the microscopic cluster that would become his baby multiply its cells inside its mother. He would know, the moment it revealed itself, if the child was a boy or a girl. And he would feel if anything – _anything_ – was wrong with either child or mother.

As he entered hyperspace, Jacen was wondering if the forging of the bond between his aunt and uncle had been this hard.

- TBC…


	14. Chapter 14

**~ Chapter Fourteen ~  
**

When the Skywalkers finally came down for breakfast, they had decided to keep the whole '_situation_' secret, at least until they had a chance to consult with Cilghal, but they neglected to explain to their toddler son the meaning of keeping a secret, therefore the first thing little Ben did after running to his Aunt Leia and giving her her good-morning kiss was to inform her that his mommy's belly tickled him. The second thing was to tell her and Uncle Han that his daddy had told him it was his little brother or sister that wanted to play with him. So by the time Luke and Mara reached the Solos they were greeted by huge grins, wookiee hugs and pats on the back – so much for keeping it a secret.

After Luke explained why he and Mara needed to leave, Leia and Han promptly volunteered to go with them and even to take Ben in the _Falcon_ so that his parents could have the whole trip to themselves. Ben, unfortunately, was not about to leave his parents and utterly refused to go with his aunt and uncle grabbing a firm hold on Luke's leg and not letting go until all the Skywalkers were safely aboard _Jade Shadow_.

Thus, right after lunch that day, the Skywalkers and the Solos left Naboo after bidding farewell to their newfound family and promising to keep in touch.

~.~.~.~

_Jade Shadow_ was on its final approach to Ossus. Its hyperdrive had been stretched to its limit for the trip and so, along with the full use of the most accurate Jedi navigation techniques, the Skywalkers had shaved several hours out of the journey's usual length of time. The _Millennium Falcon_ had been delayed due to some unforeseen technical difficulties with its hyperdrive and would be arriving later – much later.

Upon landing, the Skywalkers were welcomed by Jacen, who had arrived the previous day, and by Kam Solusar. Ben, being his usual social self, rushed to greet his cousin and his former guardian.

"Well, this is going well!" Luke remarked impressed, taking in his surroundings.

Around him spread the terrain that had been destined by the local government to hold the new Jedi Academy. It was located between the ridge of a fairly large mountain and the base of its deep valley and it was truly beautiful. To one side of the valley and going up the mountain were now planted several bungalows meant to house the Academy's students, staff and their families.

On the other side, opposite to the settlement, there was a large three-story building, also of a temporary nature, obviously meant to house the Academy itself while the construction of the permanent one was undergoing.

"It is! The Ossan government is happy to have us and arranged for all the lodging modules you see around and several more that are due any day now. And since several of the Jedi have already arrived, the work here is very advanced." Kam informed while showing them the premises.

"Jacen, have you heard anything from Jaina?" Luke asked his nephew when Kam was called away from them.

"Only in the unconventional sense, Uncle Luke. She sent me a short message through our twin bond saying she was returning, but I didn't catch the when." Jacen related. "Where're Mom and Dad?" He then asked.

"Oh, you know. Their hyperdrive was tired." Mara snickered, then remembering how hard it had been to com anyone from far reaches of the galaxy she stated: "Jaina must still be too far away for proper communication."

Luke nodded and then he asked: "Is Cilghal here yet?"

"Yes, she took up the second floor's far-east corner of the main building." Jacen answered, wondering what possibly could be so urgent, and directed them to the building's main entrance. "You can't miss it with all the apparatus still resting outside her door."

"Ben - come on!" Mara called to her son who had wondered off after Kam. The boy promptly rushed back to his parents.

"I can watch him, if you like." Jacen offered. He liked hanging out with his little cousin and now could use the practice.

Luke and Mara turned to each other and shrugged. It wouldn't hurt to leave Ben with Jacen for an hour or so, and the Healer's office was no place for a toddler who wasn't sick.

"Ok!" Mara answered then knelled to be at Ben's level. "Ben, do you want to stay with Jacen for a little while?"

Ben looked up at Jacen and showed his tinny white teeth. "Ok, Mommy!"

"All right! Be a good boy for Jacen, Ben." Luke advised his son, ruffling his hair. "We'll be right back."

"Just you and me now, kid!" Jacen said while the Skywalkers walked away and took hold of Ben's little hand." Let's go chase some butterflies."

~.~.~.~

The Skywalkers found Cilghal in her office organizing her numerous datacards into the archives she had brought from Mon Calamari.

"Luke, Mara, I'm so glad to see you both!" She embraced them warmly then paused, wondering why they would come to see her right off the ship.

"We need a consult." Mara explained sensing her thoughts.

Before another word was uttered, the Healer was already scanning both newcomers through the Force and uttering a knowing "Uh hum". She then proceeded to pull the med cot from the corner it was stationed in and retrieve a cart holding one of her more treasured apparatus.

"How long have you known?" She asked while directing Mara to lie down on the cot.

"We found out yesterday morning." Luke answered, trying to be helpful, and recounted the events of the previous day. He was now feeling more nervous than ever, knowing they were about to find out if there was something wrong with Mara's pregnancy or, as she insisted, just something different about it.

"Different, you say?" Cilghal asked in order to get a full account before beginning her examination.

"Odd." Mara tried to explain. "I can't explain any better, it doesn't feel wrong, just… odd."

"And have you conducted any further examination within yourself since yesterday?"

"No, we haven't." Since that sense of strangeness they were getting had unnerved them so and because they were going to see a specialist anyway, both Mara and Luke had decided not to delve into it any more as not to upset each other further and to not pass on the apprehension onto their very sensitive son.

"Do it now, then!" The Healer instructed them.

Following Cilghal's instruction, both Luke and Mara immersed themselves into the depths of Mara's womb and gently searched the little cluster of cells. What they found puzzled them further.

Seeing their perplexed look, Cilghal activated the device's scanner and pressed it over Mara's lower abdomen. A tinny three-dimensional image materialized over its holofield. The healer then adjusted the commands to greatly increase the size of the image - it now showed the cluster inside Mara's uterus, but instead of being round, like they expected, it resembled more a tilted figure eight.

"Your embryo is splitting. You're having twins." Cilghal explained, finding their agape expressions most amusing. "From what I can see, the separation is almost complete. After that the two new embryos will proceed to implant themselves on the uterine wall."

"Oh, you are _so_ getting vaped now, Farmboy!" Mara declared, turning her glare on her husband whose face had been taken over by a very goofy smile.

~.~.~.~

The Solos arrived after sunset and the first thing they did was to corner Luke and ask for a full report on Mara's consult. They didn't have to press very hard since traces of the goofy smile were still present on his face and he was feeling very chatty.

After dinner, the Solos and Skywalkers gathered in the new Skywalker homestead along with Cilghal and the Solusars. Their conversation eventually drifted to Mara's pregnancy when Han proposed a toast to the upcoming brand-new Skywalker twins.

"What wonderful news!" Tionne cried out, hugging Mara while Kam reached to greet Luke and give him a pat on the back.

When the news registered in Jacen's mind he was taken aback by it, his mind instantly reaching for his own little cluster of cells growing inside Tenel Ka, but quickly composed himself and congratulated his aunt and uncle. This could turn out to be a great opportunity for him to learn about pregnancies without being too obvious about it – of course he'd have to keep in mind that his aunt was expecting twins. While his mind pondered all the possibilities, around him the conversation progressed.

"This is the most exciting news we've had since the discovery of the living planet." Tionne was saying. "We don't have any records on Jedi twins -"

"What do you mean _no records_, we have two sets of Jedi twins right here." Han interrupted pointing to Luke and Leia, and Jacen. "Well, one and a half."

"I'm sorry, Han. I didn't state this correctly. What I meant to say is that there aren't any records of identical twins in the Jedi archives." The Jedi historian clarified. "If there were ever any, their records were lost in the Purge."

"And why is that so important?" Jacen asked, his natural curiosity spiking.

"Because, as opposed to you with Jaina, and Leia with Luke, identical twins start out as one embryo - one being, if you will." Cilghal explained. "If you and Jaina have such a strong connection through your twin bond, the connection between these two should be… unprecedented. I, for one, am thrilled to bear witness to their development."

"As am I!" Tionne agreed.

"Alright you two, don't start thinking you're going to turn my kids into a science experiment." Mara stepped in as she was not looking forward to those implications. She'd rather think of her children as being as normal as possible, rather than a phenomenon waiting to happen. "Right now, I'm more concerned about getting through the whole double sized pregnancy thing. Double the nausea and double the mood swings? May the Force help me!"

"Help us both, sweetheart!" Luke added, placing his arm around Mara's shoulders.

"Trying to be funny, are you, Farmboy?" She retorted and earned a kiss from her husband.

"Hey, I know exactly how you feel, Mara. I remember that part vividly." Leia stated sympathetically.

At that moment, Artoo came in whistling something that Threepio translated.

"Artoo is saying that a message has come through _Jade Shadow's_ com system. He says Mistress Jaina has reached Known Space and should be here within just a few more days."

-TBC...


	15. Chapter 15

**~ Chapter Fifteen ~**

When _Wedge's Gal _finally landed on Ossus, its crew and passengers were received by the newly founded _Ossus Jedi Academy Official Welcoming Committee_, composed by most of the members of the previous _Shelter Official Welcoming Committee_ or the _Errant Venture Official Welcoming Committee _– in other words all the Jedi students that had already arrived. Needless to say, the Antilles girls were immediately incorporated into the Committee for as long as they remained on planet.

As the children wandered away to perform their sworn duties on the occupants of another incoming ship - immediately recognized as the _Pulsar Skate_ - Luke Skywalker came to welcome them. He was very surprised to see just whom his niece had brought back from Csilla.

"Hello, Master Skywalker!"

"I'll be kesseled! Evlyn? It has been a long time. How are you? Did you come to train?" Luke could sure use another Jedi and he knew Evlyn was very gifted. Plus it was really nice to see the girl again.

"I have! My Mother now agrees that it is the best course for me – and I sort of need to stay away from the Chiss for a while." The girl confessed, feeling somewhat self-conscious.

Luke was puzzled by her answer until Jag explained.

"Evlyn really helped us with the investigation and broke a few rules to do it – it was nothing very serious but if her CO finds out, she'll be in trouble."

"I resigned my post, clamming I wanted to undergo Jedi training. Because it is well known that I'm Force-sensitive, no one thought to question my decision. Actually, I think some of my colleagues were glad to see me leave."

"Alright, then! Shall we step inside and get this over with so you can go freshen up, or would you rather rest first?"

Jaina answered for all. "I, for one would prefer to get it over with, but Wedge and Iella might want to rest a bit since they were the ones doing all the work for the entire trip."

"Oh, no we don't!" Wedge quickly replied.

"Yeah, we want to know what this is all about." Iella agreed.

"Want to know what?" Corran Horn asked as he approached the group with his wife Mirax after their kids had been absorbed by the welcoming committee.

"Let's go inside so these young people can fill us in on their adventures." With this Luke directed the group to the main building.

~.~.~

All the Masters present on Ossus – Luke, Mara, Tionne, Kam, Cilghal, Kyp and Corran - were asked to join in the meeting and hear Jaina's report. Also attending were Leia, Han and Jacen, the Antilles couple, Mirax Horn, Jag and Evlyn. No one questioned the presence of non-sensitives there since they were all held in the highest regard by all of the Jedi.

After Luke introduced Evlyn to the others, they all heard Jaina, Jag and Evlyn, with side comments from both Wedge and Iella, explain how they had found the killiks' main nest, how they spread out, what kind of infrastructures they were developing and how their behavior had changed over the past months. To conclude, they heard Jaina's account of their flight over the nest.

"It felt like they were tearing my mind in two." She concluded. "There is a Force-user down there. I know there is!"

After a few moments of silence, Luke spoke. "You're right – there is."

His tone held no doubt and the others knew he was not only expecting this, but also knew far more about it.

"You saw this in your vision?" Corran inquired suspiciously. All the Jedi knew Luke Skywalker had had at least one vision of the future while on Zonama Sekot, but most of them knew nothing of the details.

"Yes!" Luke confirmed. Seeing that the others waited for him to continue, he did so. "The vision I had started six years into the future. I needed to collect data about the killiks situation now."

"Ok, so what can _you_ tell us about this, Master Skywalker?" Kyp then asked.

"I can tell you that there are three Force-users down in that nest – Raynar Thul and the two Dark Jedi, Lomi Plo and Welk. I can also tell you that if we don't separate them from the killiks, they are going to wreak havoc throughout the galaxy."

Luke's comment silenced everyone in the room. Sensing their apprehension and doubt through the Force, Luke felt it was time he recounted that whole part of his vision. By the time he finished his account, the tension around the room was as thick as the icecaps on Hoth.

"I took their side?" Jaina asked, chocked beyond belief.

"You became a joiner, Jaina. It took a fair amount of time until you finally got back to normal."

"I'll be dammed if I'll allow my daughter to become a bug hugger!" Han retorted, looking sickened by the thought. Then he remembered where his daughter had just come from and the story she had brought back and he turned to Jag. "Why didn't you keep my little girl away from those bugs, boy? If they did anything -"

Both Leia and Jaina jumped to Jag's defense.

"Han!"

"Dad! Jag _did_ tell me to stay away. But I was cursed with the famed Solo stubbornness."

At this point Mara decided to end the argument before it got out of hand.

"Jaina wasn't out there nearly long enough to be swayed by the killiks, Han. Don't worry."

"If you say so, sister!" He said, surrendering his point.

"Do you have a plan, Luke?" Kam asked, speaking for the first time.

Luke was silent for a moment, searching and listening for an answer in the Force.

"I think we need to take a closer look, maybe see if we can locate Raynar and the Dark Jedi." Luke answered, a plan forming in his head. "I'm hoping that since they have been exposed to the killiks, and the killiks to them for a less amount of time than in my vision, that at least Raynar will prove to be a far more reasonable listener. Maybe we can do this without having to fight"

"And maybe, if we're lucky, there is no Dark Nest yet." Jacen added voicing his uncle's unspoken words.

"Who should go then?" Leia questioned, regretting it almost immediately as she noticed both her children about to volunteer.

Jacen and Jaina's intentions were not lost on the other Masters, or even the non-sensitives sitting around the table.

"If the nest had such a strong influence in the Myrkr survivors, then I don't think any of you should go." Cilghal stated, turning to the Solo twins.

"Cilghal is right. This assignment should be undertaken by masters only." Luke then proposed. "And even the masters must be extremely guarded of themselves so as not to allow for the nest's influence."

"What are we supposed to do, then?" Jaina demanded, not liking being kept away from the action.

"You, Jaina? You can take that well deserved vacation we have all gotten and you haven't." Mara said. "And you might want to invite Jag to go with you. I hear the southern seas are full of small deserted paradise islands just waiting to be camped on." She added, smirking knowingly.

Mara's suggestion drew all sorts of reactions around the table. There were several chuckles and knowing smiles, a questioning look from Jacen and a loud snort from Han. Jag and Jaina just turned a bright shade of red.

"Ok!" Luke interrupted, after all they did have some pressing matters to attend to. "We should locate Aryn Thul and bring her here. Leia, you know her better than any of us. Think you and Han can find her?"

"Yeah, sure! She's a well known business woman. I'll just ask Lando."

"Point! Now to go to the nest…" Luke was thinking that he needed two masters who would be extremely hard to influence, possessed an authoritarian presence and were not creeped out by a large multitude of bugs. He also needed them to be in the room. "Corran, Kyp - how would you like to go on a jaunt to the Unknown Regions."

~.~.~

When the meeting was deemed concluded, Corran and Mirax approached the Skywalkers.

"Gee, Master Skywalker, I always wanted to go on a joy ride with Kyp. Thanks for that!" Corran sarcastically stated.

"You can do this, Corran. And besides you and Kyp need to learn to get past your differences and work together for the greater good." Luke asserted, patting Corran's shoulder.

"Can I go too?" Mirax asked, not wanting to be left behind.

Luke, wisely, answered her. "Mirax, whether you get to go or not is between you and Corran and Kyp. If they think they need you, who am I to say they don't." Seeing Corran surreptitiously shaking his head, he added. "Although we could really use you here, if it's alright with you, that is."

"Ok, I'll stay! Moving on, we brought this for you, Mara." Mirax said, handing Mara a datacard.

"It's Marcus Jade's complete CorSec records, along with birth and marriage records. It turns out your parents really did get married on Coronet City during the first year after Palpatine's rise to power."

Mara took the datacard and stored it in her pocket.

"Thank you, guys!" She said in a constrict voice, before giving Mirax a hug. Apparently her hormones were already making her more emotional.

The Horn couple just stared at her, wondering what had gotten into their friend for her to be so out of character.

"Did you have a chance to look at that other matter while on Corellia?" Luke inquired, putting an end to the Horns' musings.

"Yes, I did! Thrackan Sal-Solo is indeed under house arrest and pending trial for his involvement with the Peace Brigade. His lawyers are doing everything in their power to stall, but it really doesn't look good for him. He did a lot of harm to a lot of people there." Corran related. "My Grandfather will be keeping a close eye on the situation and will let us know of any and all developments."

Luke nodded. It was very important to keep an eye on the likes of Thrackan Sal-Solo.

~.~.~

Outside, Jacen and Jaina had disentangled themselves from the group and were now walking along the base of the mountain.

"So, you and Jag are serious now?" Jacen asked mischievously.

"We're getting there." Jaina answered, but the curving of her mouth told Jacen they might be there already.

"Don't think I didn't notice you checking me through the Force in there, Jacen. Are you gonna tell me why?" Jaina demanded, trying to change the subject.

Jacen snorted and smirked. Nothing got past his twin.

"I was checking to see if you had followed the most recent trend and gotten pregnant."

"I'm not pregnant! And what do you mean, too? Who's pregnant?"

Jacen had forgotten that Jaina had only just arrived and now was hoping she was too tired to have noticed his phrasing.

"Aunt Mara - and with twins."

"What wonderful news!" She remarked wholeheartedly. "Oh, wait a minute, one person doesn't make a trend. Who else is pregnant?"

No, she was definitely not too tired to have noticed. Since he didn't answer right away, Jaina turned towards him and connected through their twin bond.

"Oh, Jacen…" She reached out sympathetically.

He took a very deep breath before confirming her suspicions.

"You can't tell anyone. Not Mom and Dad, not Aunt Mara or Uncle Luke, and not Jag or any of the others. Please, Jaina, promise me you won't tell!"

Jaina didn't understand why Jacen would want to keep this a secret but she respected him and Tenel Ka enough to abide by Jacen's request. She was sure they must have a good reason for it.  
"I promise, Jacen! Your secret is safe with me." Jaina vowed, hoping for her family's sake, that she wouldn't have to keep her promise for a very long time.

- TBC...


	16. Chapter 16

**~ Chapter Sixteen ~**

The next few days passed by quickly as everyone was busy erecting new quarters for the Jedi and their families, organizing the new class schedules, and receiving those who had scattered around the galaxy.

Both the _Millennium Falcon_ and the _Pulsar Skate _had left for their assigned missions within one standard day of the meeting, while Jaina and Jag had borrowed Jacen's Y-wing and departed for their well earned vacation time, promising to return within two weeks.

Soon enough the temporary Jedi Academy was deemed ready to start its functions and even started receiving a few new students.

In the meantime, before classes actually began, Luke found himself dividing his time between searching the Force for the best solution for the killik situation and keeping a close eye on his nephew, who suddenly had developed a much more somber and secretive attitude.

One morning, Luke caught up with Jacen after breakfast and asked him if something was wrong.

"No, Uncle Luke, I'm fine!" He answered, burying his truest feeling inside. Jacen had already broken his promise to Tenel Ka once, by telling Jaina about the pregnancy, he wasn't about to do it again. "I guess I'm just a little bored."

Luke turned his sharp gaze - one he'd picked up from his wife – onto the young man. He could sense that, even though there might be some truth in Jacen's statement, there was definitely something else the matter with his nephew, but he decided not to push – for now – so instead he directed Jacen towards the main building.

"Well, Jacen, if you're bored then you're not keeping busy. Maybe it's time you met with Cilghal and start on what we agreed upon."

"Of course, Uncle Luke!" Jacen smiled his friendliest smile and excused himself. He was relieved to be escaping his uncle's probing so easily and to have a chance to focus his attention on something else. Something that, come to think of it, might turn out to be very beneficial for all involved.

While watching his nephew taking off in the direction of the Jedi Healer's office, Luke was glad he had thought of requesting that Jacen teach Cilghal the techniques he had learned from Vergere. He was even gladder he had confided in the Healer his concerns with Jacen, because now he could enlist her aid in watching him.

~.~

When Jacen knocked on Cilghal's office and was invited in, he found the Healer surrounded by several containers filled with medical supplies, datacards and several other devices and objects.

"These just arrived from Mon Calamari; it's the last batch – and also the biggest." Cilghal thought to mention. With all that mess around her, she was feeling somewhat overwhelmed. "Did you want something, Jacen?"

"I assume my uncle spoke to you about Vergere's techniques." He started while looking around at all the crates. "Maybe this is a bad time -"

"Oh, no, no! Come in Jacen." Cilghal insisted. "Yes, Luke did tell me about you teaching me Vergere's techniques, for which I'm most grateful. She had started to work with me before that _Alpha Red_ business, but I'm afraid we hadn't gotten very far, and then she died and, well… Let's just say I'm very glad you can pick up where she left off."

Jacen smiled at the Healer. It felt good to be appreciated for his knowledge and he also thought Vergere would approve of seeing her legacy to him being passed on to the New Jedi Order.

"But, would you mind, Jacen, if before we start, you'd give me a hand in organizing all of these?" Cilghal asked apologetically while pointing to her personal mess. "I just can't think straight in the middle of all this chaos."

"It will be my pleasure!" He again smiled. "I was just telling Uncle Luke how bored I was."

Some hours later, after half the mess was put away, a thought bloomed in Jacen's head. Maybe it was the Force shining on him, or maybe it was just the fact that he had looked at too many medical datacards in too little time, but suddenly Jacen had to ask:

"I was wondering, Master Cilghal, if while I'm working with you on those techniques, you would see fit to teach me some healing techniques - maybe let me assist you while you work."

"I'd be delighted, Jacen! I always thought you'd make a good Healer. But you never showed interest in the healing arts."

"Uncle Luke advised me to find my self among those who know and love me. I'm attempting to explore the horizons around me instead of reaching for new ones." Jacen admitted. It was an impulse decision to ask Cilghal to mentor him in the healing arts, but now that he'd done it, it felt _right_. And he had always loved to study life, so maybe this would prove to be the best path for him after all.

~.~.~.~

After spending a total of eight days in hyperspace, Corran Horn and Kyp Durron were about ready to kill each other, but fortunately they had reached their destination. As they approached the planet identified as Yoggoy they noted the same kind of activity Jag and Jaina had described in their report.

Taking the report as reference, Corran approached the planet carefully but intently, fighting the urge to reach out through the Force and get a real feel for the place.

"I'm opening communications, now." He informed Kyp, who was sitting in the co-pilot chair.

"Wait!" Kyp's hand reached out to stop Corran's from pressing the command button. "I think we should just go in like we're meant to be here."

Corran stared at Kyp for a minute, weighing his options against all the possible choices. A part of him would like to just slap Durron's hand away from the controls, but another part, the logical part of him, knew Kyp was probably right – after all Jaina had hailed the killiks and then all hell had broken loose.

"Just take us in slowly. Don't put up the ship's shields, don't arm weapons and don't say anything." Kyp added.

"We act like we're just coming home." Corran nodded.

"We belong here." Kyp concurred.

~.~

Corran landed the _Skate_ on a plateau, next to a Corellian light freighter that looked even older than the _Millennium Falcon_ and two Chiss looking ships without a hitch, as no being even thought to question a new ship's sudden appearance.

When they stepped off the ship, the two Jedi Masters found a scene worthy of one of those epic holomovies. As far as their eyes could see were hundreds of cone shaped structures of several sizes, most obviously still under construction, and busying around them were a thousand kiliks of different shapes and sizes as well as, at least, one hundred Chiss and even a few dozen members of other species native to GA space.

As they descended on the path, they noticed the abnormality of the behavior displayed by several of the non-insectoid beings. It seemed to be unconsciously synchronous, as if those beings were sharing, or being controlled by, one mind.

"They're joiners." Corran said, looking at them distrustfully.

"Just like Master Skywalker described." Kyp added. He too was feeling restless among these strange beings. "Do you feel that?" Kyp asked, an unsettling feeling rising to a new level.

"If you're talking about the subtle pressure in the back of my head… Yes, I do!"

Both Masters raised their personal shields to the limit of their ability, just like they had been instructed to do.

Corran, noticing an increase in the killiks attention towards them, quickly turned to Kyp.

"Ok, summing up the plan: we keep our shields high up no matter what; if we split up, rendezvous is in the _Skate_, within three hours of separation," he recounted making sure he had Kyp's full attention, "we are here to gather information about the location of Raynar and the dark Jedi and only that; and under no circumstances are we to remain here for more than ten days. Agreed?"

"I still think we can afford to stay here longer, I mean what if we can't get the information we need in ten days?"

"Then we take off, report our non-findings and await instructions - those were our orders, Durron - no improvising."

"Fine, fine, Horn! Why did Skywalker make you lead in this mission, I'll never know." Kyp said with a resigned sigh.

Corran didn't answer Kyp's banter, he had had plenty of it on the trip over and, apparently, was beginning to develop an immunity to it. Besides it was best not to encourage it.

When they came by the first cone shaped structure they noticed there were a lot more killiks now surrounding them, and as they continued to walk, the bugs cleared a corridor in front of them, only to close it again as they passed. After they had cleared yet another structure, the Jedi masters came before an enormous mass of bugs, and in front of that mass was a human - a very disfigured human - with unsettling blue eyes but no eye lids, his skin shining with burn marks.

"Hello, Master Horn and Master Durron! Welcome to the Colony."

The Jedi Masters stared at the human, knowing that one of the purposes of their mission had just been fulfilled – they had found Raynar Thul.

-TBC…


	17. Chapter 17

**~ Chapter Seventeen ~**

Tionne and Mara were standing by the entrance of the biggest room in the main building watching two dozen Jedi students engaged in various activities.

The older students were gathered around Kam at the back of the room, lightsabers in hand, about to start on a series of sparring exercises. Among them was Evlyn Tabory, now officially a student, who was about to have her very first lesson in lightsaber practice.

The younger students were closer to Mara and Tionne, practicing various techniques involving telekinesis. Two of these students were, in fact, flying several model X-wings around Ben's head while he tried to catch them and laughed his little heart out when one of them flew right past his nose. After a few minutes of this exercise, Ben locked his eyes on one of the models stopping it in mid air and then grabbed hold of it, calling to his mommy in order to assure she had seen him.

After Mara assured Ben that she had indeed witnessed his little feat, he returned to the game once more.

"He is doing so much better, now." Tionne noted.

Even though Mara said nothing, she did turn her full attention to Tionne.

"He was a very quiet child, in the Maw. Now, it seems he has blossomed."

Remembering Luke had mentioned that, in his visions, Ben was somehow hiding from the Force, Mara pushed the subject.

"Tionne, did you ever notice – back in the Maw – if Ben's presence in the Force ever dimmed or flickered?"

Tionne was silent for a moment, probably searching for an acceptable explanation.

"Not often, but sometimes it was like he closed himself off from us." The teacher started. "Mostly it was when the other parents came for visits. We always thought it just shyness towards strangers, like when children hide behind their parents' legs when visitors come. Why, have you noticed anything strange with Ben?"

"No, he's a perfectly normal, happy child." Mara affirmed more to herself than to Tionne. She desperately wanted to believe that she and Luke were succeeding in making up for their time apart from Ben.

"He loves you and Luke very much, and he is happier now than I've ever seen him before. You're doing very well!" Tionne reassured her.

Maybe it was the effect of Mara's raging hormones, but the sudden thought that her son had been without her for so long, and missing her so much, was bringing tears to her eyes.

Sensing her friend's prickly mood, Tionne thought it best to change the subject completely and focus Mara's attention on more practical matters.

"Now that the war is over, it's time to think about pairing up the older students with Masters of their own. Kam and I have taught them all we can." As if to confirm Tionne's words, Valin Horn disarmed his sparring opponent on the other side of the room.

Mara nodded at Tionne's remark. "Yes, it is… We need to see if any of the Knights are ready to take on an apprentice. How many students are we talking about here?"

"Of all of them – Three are overdue, two are just the right age and five more are younger but also ready," Tionne related, "and Corran mentioned to Kam, before leaving, that if possible he would like to be teamed up with Valin."

"What does Valin have to say about that?" Mara snickered, imagining both Horns on a mission together.

"Valin has expressed his wishes to me that he too would like to be teamed up with his dad."

"But is that a good idea - to team up father and son?"

"It has worked very well for Tyria Sarkin and Doran. He has made good progress under her tutelage. And let's not forget that Corran did learn a lot from his own father."

"Yeah, I guess you're right! As long as the parents can overcome their natural protectiveness of their young and the kids can learn to respect their parent's commands as they would a master, I really don't' see any problem with the matches. I know for a fact that Luke is very intent on teaching Ben himself, with a lot of help from me, that is."

As soon as Mara spoke his name, Luke turned up next to her.

"Were you talking about me?" He asked the ladies, reaching to wrap his arm around Mara's waist.

"Only saying that you love to meddle." Mara teased him.

"That is completely false! I don't meddle, I just like to give opinions." Luke stated, faking offense.

"What ever! Did something happen?" Mara inquired, sensing Luke was a little apprehensive.

"Aryn Thul has arrived."

*

Sitting comfortably in Luke's office, around his desk, were the Skywalkers, Leia and the Thuls.

"So it's true, Luke! My son is alive?" Aryn Thul asked, expectantly. She had mourned her son for two years, ever since Luke and Leia had informed her of his fate, and now the same people that had broken the terrible news to her, were telling her that Raynar was still alive. She couldn't help but be confused, but she knew they wouldn't knowingly deceive her.

"Yes, he is, Aryn!" Luke reached to hold Aryn's hand and comfort her. He could clearly sense the whirling emotions inside her. "I'm truly sorry for putting you through this."

"And you're bringing him back?" Aryn's brother-in-law, Tyko Thul, asked.

"We're doing everything we can. But you need to understand that this situation is a delicate one."

"Please, explain, Luke." Aryn asked, trying to get hold of herself and think objectively.

As Luke recounted Raynar's situation and explained his vision to the Thuls, he could sense their attention centered on him and he could guess their unspoken questions. When Luke finished, Tyko took it upon himself to voice the Thuls' concerns.

"I ask you again, Master Skywalker, will you bring my nephew back to us?"

"I have every intention of bringing Raynar back safe." Luke didn't add the 'and sound' part, since he had no idea just how much damage had already been made to the young man's psyche. "And the Jedi are fully committed to this – it is our top priority at this time."

"Can we help in any way? Please, Luke, tell us if there is anything you need from us – anything at all!" Aryn pleaded. She was absolutely prepared to do what ever it took to have her son back.

Luke waited for a moment before answering. Then the words just came out of his mouth, commanded by the Force.

"When the time comes for us to go get him, you need to come too!"

-TBC... 


	18. Chapter 18

**~ Chapter Eighteen ~**

The _Pulsar Skate_ landed on Ossus twenty-five standard days after having left. Waiting for the ship were, of course, Luke and Mara Skywalker, the entire Solo clan, Jagged Fel, Cilghal and Mirax Horn.

After the ramp was down, out came Corran Horn and Kyp Durron, side by side, stepping down simultaneously and greeting their welcoming party in complete unison. Noticing their behavior, Luke, Mara and the others exchanged concerned looks.

"Are you alright?" Mirax asked, turning to Corran and feeling two sets of green eyes on her.

"We're fine -" Kyp started.

"- Sweetheart!" Corran finished.

Mirax quickly turned back to Luke and Cilghal, her eyes silently pleading their help for her husband. '_Well,' _she thought, ' _at least it was Corran calling me Sweetheart, and not Kyp.' _

"Let's move inside, then." Luke directed everyone. "Are you two ready to give your report now, or would you like to freshen up first?"

"We'd like to -"

"- do it now, Master Skywalker."

As the group moved inside to Luke's office, Luke took in his fellow Masters' behavior, perceiving every nuance through his senses and through the Force. He observed every one of their synchronous movements, from the way they stepped on the floor to the tilting of their heads. When the two Masters stopped just before taking their seats, turned to face each other and raised their forearms in order to touch each other's, Luke had had enough.

"WILL YOU TWO CUT IT OUT!"

Both Jedi Masters broke out laughing.

"I'm sorry, Luke!" Corran said, raising one hand apologetically while the other was still on his stomach.

"We couldn't resist!" Kyp added, also still trying to stop his laughs. "Blame it on too many days in hyperspace."

"You were faking it?" Mirax demanded accusingly, just before giving Corran a taste of her right-hand hook to his stomach.

The look on Mirax's and Corran's face made Kyp break out again. His own fit was cut short when Mirax pulled Corran's lightsaber from his belt and hit Kyp over the head with it.

In the meantime, everybody else in that room was either bending over laughing or, at the very least, taking deep breaths in order to gain some level of control.

"These two hung out with Janson for far too long, during the war!" Mara said, shaking her head in amusement.

"I'm glad to see they can team up once in a while, given a common goal." Luke replied between chuckles of his own.

"Ok, you two, that little prank just earned you a trip to Cilghal's examination room." Luke commanded after everyone had calmed themselves, and after Corran was able to sooth Mirax's temper. "_Complete_ examination, Cilghal! It's also better to completely sweep the _Skate _for bugs - Mirax, could you supervise it?"

"Yeah, sure!" She agreed, already noticing Jag and Jaina volunteering to help.

"Leia, could you ask the Masters Council and the Myrkr survivors to join us in my office in three -" Luke glanced to Cilghal for confirmation and continued, "- three hours."

"What about the Thuls?" Leia asked. The Thuls had chosen to remain aboard their ship _Tradewyn_, which was station in orbit, just over the Academy.

"We'll fill them in later." Luke answered. He thought it was best to hear Corran and Kyp's report, and to come up with a course of action, without the constant interruptions from Raynar's family members.

Two hours later, in Cilghal's exam room, Kyp and Corran laid perfectly still on two relaxi-chairs, with impulse-nodes attached to several places around their heads. Both had already been through whole batteries of tests and, so far, had passed all of them.

"How much longer do we have to do this?" Kyp demanded to know as his patience was stretched to a whole new level.

"Stay very still, Kyp, or we'll have to start all over again." Cilghal responded. The complete stillness of the subjects was not necessary for this test, neither was it necessary to wait so long, but the Healer was enjoying watching the two pranksters squirm, as were the ones watching the exam. "Jacen, magnify the lower left quadrant of their brain, please. Corran, wake up!"

"What?" Corran almost jump. He had almost fallen asleep this time.

"You have to be awake for this, Corran." Mara teased. She was leaning against the wall, with Luke's arm wrapped around her waist protectively. "Or your brain won't register at all."

"Ha, ha! Very funny, Mara." Corran replied to her banter.

Now that the two Masters' brains were completely mapped out, Cilghal turned to Luke and asked for instructions. She as flying blind on this, relying solely on the information Luke had learned through his visions.

"So, what are we looking for, Luke?" She inquired.

"Abnormalities in the corpus callosum's structure." Luke related to her.

Jacen keyed in some commands and the designated structure of both brains appeared in their assigned medholos. Cilghal carefully studied the structures and concluded: "They _are_ normal."

"At least as normal as they have ever been." Mara snickered.

"Alright then, you two, go grab a bite and report for debriefing in one hour. You're dismissed!" Luke stated, sending them off - they did not need to be told twice.

After Kyp and Corran left, Jacen turned to Mara and asked her about her pregnancy.

"I feel pretty good, actually!" She answered. "That infusion Cilghal gave me as worked wonders for the nausea."

"I was thinking that, since we're here and we're not expected for another hour, we can take a look, maybe figure out whether they're boys or girls." He added. Jacen was very keen in following Mara's pregnancy, especially the part where he could see the fetuses developing, for that gave him a pretty good idea of how his own child was growing inside Tenel Ka.

"No, it's far too early to see a fetus gender through the scans." Cilghal explained, and then turned to the Skywalkers expectantly. "Of course, the fetuses' Jedi parents probably already have a pretty good idea of what's coming."

Luke turned to Mara as if asking her permission. When she nodded, he declared: "We're having girls!"

An hour later, the Masters Council had gathered in the meeting room adjacent to Luke's office along with the Myrkr survivors on location at the time, the Solos, Jag and Evlyn, who had been invited to attend given her earlier contributions to the investigation.

"Hey, love-birds, nice tan!" Kyp remarked to Jaina and Jag, taking a seat across from them. "The vacation was good?"

"Wonderful!" Jaina answered with a smile dancing on her lips and while reaching for Jag's hand under the table.

"I don't wanna hear another word about that!" Han Solo interrupted as he occupied the chair next to Jaina. He absolutely refused to acknowledge that his little girl wasn't so little anymore. "Hey, is that what I think it is?" He then asked, pointing to a transparent vial that was resting in front of her. Inside it were visible seven tiny gray bugs.

"The _Skate's_ stowaways." Jaina answered. "We found them in the air vents."

"Jaina had to huff and puff and blow them out." Jag snickered, remembering his girlfriend using the Force to flush the bugs out of the vents.

"Not funny, Jag!" Jaina complained, a little embarrassed. "And speaking of funny and bugs, was that really how joiners act?" Jaina asked, turning to Kyp again.

"Yeah, pretty much! I think Horn's a natural. _Outch_!" Kyp's remark earned him another slap in the head from Mirax.

Their conversation was cut short by the entrance of Luke, Mara, Jacen and Cilghal.

"Ok, people! Now that we've all had our fun, let's move on to more serious matters." Luke opened and then turned to Kyp and Corran and invited them to start their report.

The two Masters began by recounting their landing, view of the area and first meeting with Raynar.

"So, he found you?" Kyle Katarn inquired, still somewhat confused about this whole business.

"That's right! He sought us out as soon as we landed." Corran confirmed.

"No doubt warned by the killiks of your arrival." Mara suggested.

"After that, he showed us around the neighborhood, like we had indeed just stopped by for a visit." Kyp continued. "He told us all about the _Flyer's _crashing and about having to drag the Dark Jedi out of the ship; how the killiks took care of them and his plans for the colony - he was actually a very attentive host."

"He was aware of the Dark Jedi?" Luke asked, sounding surprised.

"At first, yes - although he couldn't tell us where they were, then a few days later he couldn't remember them, then after that he could, then couldn't again… It was very annoying." Kyp explained.

"Why would he behave that way?" Kenth Hamner questioned.

"Because he is starting to feel the influence of the Dark Nest." Luke stepped in. "Lomi Plo's deep desire to hide was transmitted to the Dark Nest the same way Welk's aggressiveness was - through the Colony's collective mind". Since his explanation was making everybody even more confused, he clarified further. "When the Colony takes in joiners, it absorbs their most deeply engrained personality traits - it absorbed Raynar's deep respect for individual life, Lomi's wish to hide and Welk's aggressiveness. In my visions, the Dark Nest actually denied conscious knowledge of itself to the rest of the Colony. In other words, the Dark Nest could have been standing right in front of Raynar and he would still deny it's existence. The fact that Raynar's knowledge of the Dark Nest is already flickering indicates that it is beginning its influence on the killiks."

Sensing understanding from the others, Luke then asked: "Were you able to locate the Dark Jedi?"

"We didn't actually see them." Corran answered and then explained. "Even though Raynar let us roam around freely inside his own city - which is huge - we were not allowed to move beyond the city's boundaries, and when we enquired as to the reason, he would just say there was nothing out there."

"And when we finally managed to elude his surveillance, we ended up having to get out of there in a hurry." Kyp finished. "We did find out that there is another city, about a hundred kilometers away, with more of those cone shaped structures being built and one large structure already up. We believe it to be where the Dark Jedi are hiding."

"Did you manage to get a feel for the place, in the Force?" Jacen asked.

"The whole planet's sense in the Force is very strange, it's like there are echoes all over and with that constant pressure in the back of one's head making us more weary… We just couldn't get a proper reading." Corran said, almost apologizing for not succeeding in that task.

"It's ok, Corran, I really didn't expect you to." Luke reassured him. "Did you see any bluish killiks that looked something like this?" He asked, showing Kyp and Corran a piece of flimsiplast he had been sketching on.

The two Masters studied the flimsy and then shook their heads in a negative. "No we didn't see those around." Kyp stated.

Luke nodded, acknowledgingly.

"Did you attempt to convince Raynar to come back on hiz own accord?" Saba asked.

"We did talk to him about coming back, but he wouldn't even hear us. We also considered bringing him back by force, but then it would've been the two of us against who knows how many bugs and joiners… It would have been impossible." Kyp admitted.

"So, what do we do now? We have to bring Raynar back, we owe it to him." Zekk said, speaking for the first time.

For a moment everyone in the room was silent, all turning to Luke and awaiting the plan they hoped he had already come up with.

It was Jacen who broke the silence first. "We should find a way to break Raynar's connection to the Colony."

"And also the Colony's connection to Lomi Plo and Welk." Cilghal continued.

Luke did not respond to the others' suggestions and questions - he was, at that moment, seeing himself immersed in the pool of water in the underground cavern and feeling the Force flowing through every cell in his body, washing away the venom's influence, exactly has it had happened three months before.

"Yes, and I believe I know how we can achieve that."

By the time the meeting was over, a plan had been drawn out. The basic idea was to catch up with Raynar and the two Dark Jedi, and using a technique based on the one employed by Anakin Skywalker to cleanse Luke's body from the vong venom - which was still being developed by Luke, Cilghal and Jacen - thereby wipe out all connections between their minds and the mind of the Colony. To accomplish this, the Jedi would divide into three main teams and two backup teams - the first team, led by Luke, would find Raynar and distract him while the other two main teams located the Dark Jedi. The backup teams would remain mobile and come in should trouble arise.

Because Luke wanted to attempt a peaceful solution to the problem, it was agreed that they would try to convince Raynar and the Dark Jedi to accept their help and leave the Colony, and that only if they refused would the Jedi consider more drastic measures. And even those measures would have to be proportional to the actions undertaken by their targets at the time.

No one actually believed the Dark Jedi would surrender without a fight, but for the good of the Jedi and of the Colony they hoped that, at least, Raynar could be reasoned with. For that purpose, Luke would ask for the help of Aryn Thul, Raynar's mother, who was eagerly awaiting the safe return of her son.

After everyone else had left the room, Mara turned to her husband, hands on her waist, and asked for an explanation.

"Ok, so what am I supposed to do?"

Luke took a deep breath; he had known this conversation was coming and was fully prepared for it, or so he hoped. He closed the distance between them and answered truthfully.

"Mara, once you told me you trusted my judgment in telling you where I needed you. Do you remember?"

Her answer was a mere nod. She did remember that day well, and her words and what they meant.

"I need you to stay here." Luke said, his heart tightening a bit, because he knew she would not be happy by his request. Before Mara began arguing, he took her hand in his and explained his reasons. "I told you that, in my visions, the Dark Nest wanted you dead. In fact your mere presence sparked their aggressiveness towards all of us. And they hurt you - badly - twice. I couldn't stand it if anything were to happen to you." Luke didn't have to add that he also couldn't stand it if anything were to happen to their unborn children.

"I don't like it!" She whispered, her voice catching in her throat.

"I know, my love! And it pains me too." It was true, Luke would rather fight with Mara at his side at any time, except at this one. It was just too much at stake. He was holding her against him now, and could feel her heart beating fast against his chest. He leaned in and kissed her forehead.

"Besides," he continued, "Ben needs one of us to stay with him - we're making such progress with him and I'm afraid that, if we both leave, it will set him back. " Luke knew that argument would convince Mara, since she would do anything for Ben.

She knew Luke was right, but the whole idea of Luke going on without her was making Mara remember the last time he had gone into battle without her - and she had come far too close to losing him. Luke sensed her thoughts through their bond and tried to reassure her.

"That's not gonna happen, this time." He said with all the earnestness in his heart.

"Promise?" Tears were coming down her face now - undoubtedly the effects of her wacky hormones.

He caressed her face gently and kissed her wet cheeks and then her lips, imprinting on them all the love in his heart.

"I promise, my love!"

-TBC…


	19. Chapter 19

**~ Chapter Nineteen ~**

Through his mind's eye, Jacen could clearly see Tenel Ka comfortably sitting on her bed and reclining over a mountain of fluffy pillows. She was holding, in her arms, their newborn daughter, rocking her to sleep and singing to her a Hapan lullaby. Suddenly a buzzing sound took over the room and a dark blue cloud broke in and covered the peaceful scenery.

Jacen woke up in a complete state of panic and gasping for air. His very first thought went to Tenel Ka and their baby. He reached out to them, through the Force, and found them well. As he received Tenel Ka's feelings of reassurance and inquiry as to what was going on, Jacen finally understood that it had all been a dream. His little family was safe, the baby wasn't due for more than seven months and, should his dream be a warning, there was time to take care of the threat. Because now he had no doubt that the killiks were indeed a threat and he needed to find a way to neutralize them once and for all.

Jacen left his quarters and made his way to the _Tradewyn's_ med level. The Mon Calamari Star Cruiser was on its way to the Unknown Regions, taking the Jedi and their ships to the kiillik planet where Raynar had set up his city. They were already in hyperspace for four days and were due to spend another four or five days en route; in the meantime, the Jedi were taking every opportunity to ponder on their plan of action, discussing it in detail and attempting to foresee every variation in order to maximize their chances of success.

When Jacen entered the med lab assigned to Cilghal, he found the Healer staring at the vial that contained the little killiks found in the _Skate's_ air vents. He approached her quietly, not wanting to intrude.

"I was thinking how such little beings can cause so much trouble." Cilghal said, breaking the silence.

"I was told they come in all sizes." Jacen responded, trying to not give away his feelings towards those little beings.

"What's on your mind, Jacen?" The Healer asked, clearly sensing some kind of uneasiness within Jacen.

Since he couldn't tell her the source of his agitation, Jacen chose to relay its cause.

"I was thinking whether Uncle Luke's plan will be enough." He started. "I mean, I believe the technique we've been developing will be successful in cutting the connection between the killiks and Raynar and the Dark Jedi, but what about the other joiners? What if there are more Force-users there that we don't know about. Or who can tell if sooner or later the Colony won't absorb another Force-sensitive being. It could just start all over again!"

Cilghal nodded in understanding. "I see your point. Do you have any suggestions?"

Jacen thought it through for a moment. "What if -" he hesitated, afraid the plan forming in his mind might be viewed as too radical, "- what if as we sever the connections, we tap into the collective mind, stretch out through its tendrils and dissolve those links too. It would be like tapping into the main computer through one of the terminals and ordering it to disconnect all communications with other terminals."

"Other terminal of different brands, I hope. It would be extremely unethical to mess with the killik species and their intra-species relationships."

"Of course, Master Cilghal! That's exactly what I meant." He smiled reassuringly, hiding his true intent. Jacen did this because his plan went just a little beyond what he had explained and Cilghal had assumed - his plan was to keep the main computer from ever being able to access other terminals from other brands, basically to stop the Colony from taking any more joiners in the future. Unfortunately he didn't feel confident enough to completely disclose this plan, as he was afraid Cilghal and his uncle would see it as a much too deep interference in the killik way of life.

~.~.~

Jagged Fel appeared to be wondering aimlessly around the _Tradewyn's_ fight hangar, but really he was working up the nerve to seek someone out and have a very important conversation. Flying his clawcraft against a dozen skippers hadn't been this difficult. He took one last deep breath and made his way to the _Millennium Falcon_.

"Captain Solo?" He called in.

"Over here!" A muffled male voice called out from inside a hatch somewhere in the ship's aft.

When Jag found him, Han had already extracted himself from the confined space.

"What do you want, Kid?" Han demanded in a tone that left no room for second-guessing.

"A word, Sir."

Han was always of two minds when someone treated him with such deference - on one hand he knew he had earned it, considering his age and track record, while on the other hand, it just made him all the more suspicious, as if whoever was addressing him in such a manner were just sucking up to him or worst, teasing him. But this time, since it was Jag who was doing the salute, he felt it was safe to assume it was a respectful greeting.

"What is it? Speak up, Kid."

"I want to talk to you about Jaina, Sir." Jag started.

Han raised an eyebrow, now truly suspicious about the young man's intention. "Huhum?"

"I am under the impression, Sir, that you do not approve of my relationship with your daughter."

"Huh, yeah, that…" This was embarrassing. Han didn't actually mean to make Jag feel bad, he just didn't want to consider the fact that his little girl was all grown up and he _really_ didn't like to consider that she might be at the start of a new life away from her dad.

"Look Kid, it's not that I don't approve of ya. It's just that I can't approve of anyone who would take my girl away from me. It's a dad thing, you'll understand when you have a daughter."

The thought of having a daughter of his own brought a warm smile to Jag's previously stern face.

"I want you to know that I truly and deeply love Jaina, Captain Solo. I would do nothing that would make her unhappy and that includes taking her away - she could _never_ be happy away from you."

Jag's vow warmed Han's heart. He could tell how much the young man loved Jaina just by the way his eyes lighted up when he spoke her name and that knowledge brought peace to a father's heart.

"This took guts, Kid - coming here and talking to me. I respect that!" Han extended a hand and offered it to Jag. "You're not proposing here, are ya? 'Cause I need some time to get used to _this_ first."

"Not _yet_, Sir!" Jag answered accepting Han's hand, and insinuating by his reply that the time when he would be talking to Han about a more lasting commitment might not be that far away.

Nodding at Han, Jag excused himself feeling much _much_ better.

As Jag descended the _Falcon's_ ramp, a female voice came out of the cockpit followed by its owner.

"You did well, Flyboy, you did well!"

"Why - thank you Your Highnessness! See, I can be a good father when I wanna be."

Leia wrapped her arms around her husband's neck and kissed him deeply.

"Yes, you can!"

-TBC…


	20. Chapter 20

_A/N:_ This is my very first time writing any sort of action sequence, so I'm sorry if you were expecting a little more. Since I usually find complex fighting sequences to be confusing, I decided to keep the fighting details to a minimum and just let your over-active imaginations fill the rest.

I hope you enjoy it. And now without further delay:

_JEDI VS KILLIKS - Who will win?_

* * *

**~ Chapter Twenty ~**

The _Millennium Falcon_ landed on the same plateau the _Pulsar Skate_ had used about a month prior. When its occupants exited the ship they were immediately surrounded by killiks of all shapes and sizes. As more and more killiks gathered around the small group, both Luke and Leia began feeling that persistent pressure in the back of their heads, just as Kyp and Corran had described. They were rounded up and led by the killiks to the city's main building, where Raynar was expecting them.

It had been previously agreed by the Jedi teams that the first to make contact would be Luke's team, and that only when they had confirmation that the meeting was taking place would the other two main teams, led by Kyp and Corran, land and start their search of the Dark Jedi. The two backup teams would remain airborne, in their X-wings, until called upon to assist. Since Luke's main purpose was to convince Raynar to cooperate and leave the Colony of his own free will, he had asked Aryn Thul to come along and talk to her son. With them were Han and Leia - also parental figures to Raynar, and ones he looked up to.

As they walked, Luke found himself comparing his visions of the place to the reality that surrounded them. All the surrounding structures were much smaller than the ones he had foreseen and the city itself paled in comparison. Even though there were almost as many killik species around, he could see far fewer joiners and most of them were Chiss. Even the activity they had noticed in orbit - even though impressive - was nothing compared to his visions. All in all, it was obvious that the Colony was still a far cry from the massive strength Luke had witnessed, and that thought fed Luke's hope that the Dark Nest hadn't taken over Raynar and the Colony - at least not yet.

The moment they stepped inside the building's large hall and saw Raynar, Leia sent her children the go-ahead, through the Force.

"Master Skywalker, Princess Leia and Captain Solo… Mother, we weren't expecting you."

As Raynar stood and acknowledged their presence, Luke stepped forward and handed the young man the vial containing the tiny killiks that Luke had brought along with him.

"We've come to return these little fellas to their home - they seemed to have gotten lost inside the _Skate's_ air vents." Luke declared, while emanating calmness trough the Force. "And your mother wanted to see you." He added, signaling Aryn to come forth.

"Raynar, I thought you were dead." Aryn said, her emotions at seeing her son again and realizing the severity of the injuries he had sustained imprinted on her voice and her eyes. The Jedi had warned Aryn about Raynar's present appearance - the many burn scars he had all over him - but Aryn was still shocked by them, but her shock had only lasted a second and now she could clearly see her son underneath them.

"Raynar is dead, Mother." He died when the _Tachyon Flier_ crashed." He answered after opening the container and letting the little bugs out.

"And yet, you call me _'Mother'_." Aryn remarked. "Who are you, if not my son?"

"We are Unu!"

"_We_? Who is _'we'_ -" Aryn was about to ask, but was stopped by Luke.

With a nod to her brother, Leia stepped in and calling upon all her years of diplomatic experience, she asked: "May I ask, why does Unu feel the need to call Aryn _'Mother'_?

Unu looked at her in confusion. His mind was boggled and her question made no sense to him.

Leia, noticing his uncertainty, pushed a little further. "Could it be that Raynar still exists inside Unu?"

Something shone in Unu's eyes, a recognition of some sort. He turned to Aryn and as if seeking his genuine self in her.

"Listen to your heart, Raynar. It will tell you where you do belong." Luke added.

Aryn approached her son, caressed his scarred face and kissed his cheek gently. "I want my son back." She whispered to him, a tear running down her face.

It was clear to everyone that Unu was struggling with Raynar. He was frowning tightly and grabbed hold of his head as if to stop it from exploding. After a minute, he composed himself and Raynar emerged.

"I can't leave, Mother, the Colony needs me!" He stated, truly believing his words. He had built a true society there, one that took care of the individual without losing focus of the whole.

"Your Colony is turnin' ya in to a bug, Kid. Trust me, you really don't want that." Han retorted. He was very uncomfortable around all those bugs, and now was actually considering if he should have abided by Luke's suggestion and staid with the _Falcon_. That way he could have given air support wherever it was needed. On the other hand, he'd be damned if he'd let a _few_ bugs keep him away from Leia.

Luke cut in before Han could say anything else and Raynar could react to what Han had already said. "Your presence here is hurting the Colony, Raynar. You don't see it yet, but if you stay, it will eventually lead to a war and millions of killiks will die."

Raynar looked mystified at the Jedi Master. "How do you know?"

"The Force has shown it to me." Luke answered truthfully. "Search my memories and you will see." Luke extended his hand to the young man and lowered his impressive mental shields. He immediately felt the Collective Mind's pressure increase exponentially so he braced himself to repel its influence while granting Raynar access to images of his visions. While he could tell both Han and Leia were apprehensive about his proposal to Raynar, he also knew they had enough confidence in him to not interfere, though it was understood that Leia would keep a close watch in the exchange that was about to take place and react if need be.

Raynar accepted Luke's hand and stretched his Force sense to scan the Master's mind. He soon saw for himself the events Luke had spoken of. Through his mind's eye, Raynar saw the battles with the Chiss, the absorption of his childhood friends into the Collective Mind and the mayhem throughout the galaxy. He recognized the influence of the Dark Nest in the Colony and felt the pain of a million deaths as the knowledge of what was to come was transmitted through the Collective Mind.

Luke felt Raynar's pain as if it were his own. He felt the full weight of the Collective Mind pressing against his own, far stronger than he had imagined. He sought to strengthen the shields around his conscious and unconscious mind through the Force, leaving only his memories of the future opened for Raynar. But still the powerful mind forced his shields and he might have collapsed if not for the other two presences in his mind lending him their strength. Luke felt his sister's presence, strong and faithful holding his shields in place while Mara's bright and loving presence, even from across the galaxy, helped him focus his thoughts and show Raynar all he needed to see.

When Raynar terminated the exchange, he was panting and his face was wet with tears. Luke didn't feel any better, but held up for appearance sake.

"I never meant for that to happen." He affirmed, his voice barely a whisper.

"I know, Raynar." Luke consoled him, supporting the young man who was leaning heavily against him. Within a moment Aryn had taken her son's other arm and was leading him and Luke to a nearby resting chair.

"Lomi and Welk… They're in the -" Raynar's voice faltered as he remembered the location of the Dark Jedi he had been hiding.

"We know," Luke assured him, "We'll take care of them."

~.~.~

When they received the go-ahead, both Kyp's and Corran's teams headed for the other agglomerate - the one they had spotted in their previous visit - and landing on opposite sides, began to sweep their assigned areas. Their assigned ships, _Jade Shadow_ and the _Pulsar Skate_ - piloted by Jag and Lowbacca and assisted by Artoo and Whistler, respectively - quickly dropped the teams off and lifted again to provide air coverage.

On the northern side of the agglomerate, Kyp's team spread out - Kyp and Cilghal taking the lead while Jaina took the left flank and Zekk the right. They made their way at first undetected, as there was no one around, then, as they moved on, with more and more eyes watching them.

As they approached the first half-built buildings it was already quite clear that they were being monitored closely. All of a sudden, the killiks that were previously just watching them began to move closer, blocking their way at first and then actively trying to push them back.

When the first ten pound killik jumped Jaina, she swiftly ignited her lightsaber and cut it in half. After that, the whole thing just turned into a brawl. The killiks were determined to keep the Jedi from moving any further into the bug-town and only with the help of several massive Force-pushes and of _Jade Shadow_ in the air could the Jedi hold their own against the several hundred bugs that kept throwing themselves at them.

Jaina knew that her brother, on the other side of the town, was not doing any better.

On the southern side, Corran's team proceeded much the same way - after all that was the outlined plan. Corran took the lead closely followed by Jacen, to the right was Saba Sebatyne and her son Tesar covered the left side. Unlike the others in the north, almost immediately they found themselves surrounded by killiks who, at first, seemed content with just keeping an eye on the newcomers, but soon enough began to hinder the Jedi's progress. It wasn't long before the Jedi had to take out their lightsabers, ignite them and start slashing left and right. Soon enough they too had to ask for air assistance from Lowbacca in the _Skate_ and would have even called in the backup teams if those hadn't already have their hands full staving off some of the bug fighters.

At a certain point, after the _Pulsar Skate_ had already been called in to assist, the Jedi on the ground opted to call in one of the backup teams to lend a few more lightsabers and guns to the battle.

All of a sudden, the killiks stopped for a moment. Thought it wasn't long but when they started attacking again, it was a more hesitant attack, like foot soldiers following orders from different generals with different agendas.

"I think Uncle Luke has gotten through to Raynar." Jacen noted relieved. He had no desire to see his childhood friend get hurt, but would do what ever was necessary to ensure the threat that the Colony posed was neutralized.

~.~.~

It took a good ten minutes before Raynar was able to continue. His mind was starting to feel boggled again but this time he was aware of it and fought it off. Through his connection with the Collective Mind, he knew that there was some sort of trouble brewing far away in another settlement, but couldn't grasp its nature. Sensing his uneasiness and its source, Leia enlightened him: "The Jedi are searching for Lomi and Welk and I believe they are faced with strong opposition."

"I should be able to see it more clearly, but I can not." Raynar said. It was odd, he believed the Colony held no secrets from him but now, looking more closely at some of the events, he found that that wasn't so - there were plenty of things he didn't understand and that were kept from him. Suddenly Raynar felt deceived.

"Those Dark Jedi were doin' a number on ya, Kid. But we've got your back now." Han stated confidently.

"Raynar," Luke called, "we need to do something, with your permission. We have to cut your connection to the Colony, so that the killiks can continue without you and you can come home with us. You do want to come home with us, don't you?"

Raynar looked at all of them - he had excused his killik and joiner escorts a few minutes before and was now accompanied only by his mother, Luke and the Solos - and fear crept in. The Colony had been his home for two years, they had taken care of him while he was hurt and they looked up to him for guidance. But looking at these people - at his mother - Raynar knew he didn't belong to the Colony. And now, from what Master Skywalker had shown him, he knew for a fact that his staying would only hurt the killiks. He did have to leave them.

"Yes, Sir." Raynar answered.

Luke breathed in with relief and he could feel Leia and Han doing the same. Aryn, still holding Raynar's hand, smiled at her son and her grin held no doubt about her support of his decision.

Luke directed the young man to sit down in front of him.

"Alright Raynar, I want you to open yourself completely. This will be like what we did before, but this time it is you that have to grant me access to your mind. The difference is I will not be looking for your memories, but for the tendrils that connect you to the Collective. It might hurt, but I need you to not fight it - just relax. Do you have any questions?"

Raynar shook his head in a negative.

Luke caught hold of both of Raynar's hands, closed his eyes and concentrated. He once again envisioned his body immersed in water and the Force flowing through his cells. He used that feeling to picture the Force, flowing like water into Raynar's brain, seeking the tendrils that led to the Collective Mind like a river seeks paths in which to run, and through that course Luke spread out his Force sense and found the millions of killik minds - all equal - and a thousand joiner minds - different but modeled to fit the Collective - and in the back he found the hidden minds of the two Dark Jedi - imprinting their own minds into the Collective instead and too heavily shielded to be forced into without hurting Raynar further. After finding all branches of the Collective Mind linking to the joiners, Luke used the Force to burn their pathways into nothingness thus erasing all essence of the Collective Mind of the Colony within its joiners and of the joiners within the Collective, completely terminating the connection between Raynar, the Colony and its non-force-sensitive joiners.

When he was finished, Raynar - now just himself - laid on the floor, unconscious and the killiks outside seemed to have frozen in place.

~.~.~

In the heat of the battle, the killiks stopped again, and this time they stayed that way. It was clear to all that something big had happened, and after contacting Leia the two teams learned that Luke had successfully been able to strip Raynar's presence from the Colony.

Now all that remained was finding Welk and Lomi Plo. That didn't take long since, without their own private army to do their fighting for them, the two Dark Jedi were forced to confront their opponents personally.

The Force-lightning attack came out of nowhere and only thanks to his sharp Jedi danger sense was Corran able to deflect it.

"Are Skywalker's Jedi cowards or will you face me one at a time?" Came Welk's raucous voice from behind a heap of rubble.

"You face thiz one firzt, Hatchling!" Saba called out, since she was the one closest to the Dark Jedi.

The Welk that came out from behind the heap of rubble was a pale comparison to the one Jacen had encountered two years earlier. He had only one good arm and in place of the other was a killik arm that appeared to have been attached very recently and was still half bonded to his torso. His face was a mass of burned tissue with no recognizable features while the rest of his body, covered in rags, moved clumsily dragging slightly one of his legs.

In the meantime, Kyp's team was nearing the large building almost in the center of the town. They entered the building and, as they reached its center, their danger senses flared just as the whole structure began to shake.

On the other side of the building, near another exit stood Lomi Plo, looking at then through bug eyes, and clapping her bug lower jaw at them. She had lost one leg and was therefore heavily leaning on a crutch. As she stepped to the exit Lomi rested her free hand against the wall of the building and, searching its weak spots, she pressed them through the Force and made the building start to crumble, intending on trapping the Jedi inside. As the Jedi looked around for their exit they found it had already caved in.

Joining their forces, all five Jedi caught the collapsing structure and, like an explosion, threw it far away from them. Unfortunately for Lomi, a piece of the exploding debris crashed on top of her knocking her out.

When she came to, Lomi was lying on her back and Cilghal was hanging over her while the others were keeping her restrained physically and in the Force. Then the Healer reached into her mind, seeking out all her connections to the Collective and, like Luke had done with Raynar, she burned and cauterized all the pathways in Lomi's and the Colony's mind. Even though she fought it with all her remaining strength, nothing Lomi Plo did could stop the Healer and just before it was over, her scream echoed throughout the entire agglomerate.

Welk ignited his lightsaber and attacked the Barabel Master. As he somersaulted towards her and slashed at her head, a blow Saba parried easily, using telekinesis he launched a large rock towards her blind spot in hopes of catching her off guard. His plot was thwarted by Tesar who was keeping a very close watch on him and stopped the rock in mid air.

"No cheating, Hatchling!" Tesar exclaimed loudly, inciting the Dark Jedi's fury to flare.

While the duel continued, the killiks around them were starting to come around, and so Welk, taking notice of this, sought out the Collective Mind and ordered them to attack once more.

Now with their hands full, the Jedi were forced to concentrate once more on the killik attacks and leave Welk solely to Saba.

When Lomi's scream was heard and the killiks were once more stopped in their tracks, thinking his opponent distracted, Welk jumped on the Barabel Master intending to stab her with his lightsaber, but she quickly turned and ducked and it was Welk who ended up impaled on hers.

Before the Dark Jedi could take his last breath, Jacen advanced on him and both his hands on the Dark Jedi's head, Jacen reached in through the Force. As he located all the pathways leading in and out of the Collective Mind, he reached even further, remembering the dream he had had and his understanding that the Colony was better off if it lost it's ability to take in joiners, seeking in the Mind's center the ability to absorb beings of other species. When Jacen found what he was looking for, he obliterated that center and only then, as he retreated his Force sense from inside of Welk's mind, did he burn and cauterize the paths he had already located.

When Jacen was finished, Welk took his last breath and died.

-TBC...


	21. Chapter 21

**~ Chapter Twenty-One ~**

An hour later, both the _Pulsar Skate_ and _Jade Shadow_ had landed on the edges of the main city, next to the _Millennium Falcon_. They had brought Lomi Plo with them, who was in a deep vegetative state and not expected to wake up at all.

"She is brain dead," Cilghal informed Luke, "and her body will soon follow. The chunck of the wall that hit her crushed several of her inner organs. But I didn't want to leave her there, even with all the harm she has done, it would go against all my beliefs as a Healer and as a Jedi."

Luke nodded, agreeing with everything Cilghal had said. He then directed her to Raynar, who was still unconscious on a cot placed in a corner of the room. Cilghal examined the young man, under the watchful eye of his mother, sensing is brain activity and general physical health.

"He is also in a coma, but it is a mild one - more like a healing trance. I'd expect him to stay that way until his brain recovers from the shock and then wake up on his own. As for his physical condition, he is slightly malnourished." She explained more to Aryn than to the others.

"What about his scars - can you help him?" Aryn asked, already concerned for her son's future.

"I know of several reconstructive surgeons who are very capable of helping with the physical aspect of Raynar's recovery. But I believe we should first ensure his mental health and proceed after that according to his wishes. After all, your son has been through quite an ordeal."

After explaining everything in detail, Cilghal left the room, leaving a much-relieved mother behind to tend to her son.

Outside were all the other Jedi, their injuries - nothing major - already taken care of either by themselves or by Jacen, surrounded by very numb killiks and awaiting new orders.

"Ok, people, first things first! Spread out and bring all the joiners you can find here so that Cilghal, Jacen and myself can check them out. They are likely to be found in a state of unconsciousness, so be gentle." Luke ordered them. "Leia, could you ask Tyko in the _Tradewyn_ and ask for transports. I know they have at least about a dozen or so available."

"Yeah, sure! Then me and Han will take the _Falcon_ and assist with the searches."

"Great! Jag and Jaina - take the _Shadow _- and Corran and Lowie - take the _Skate_ - and join in, too."

After they all left, Luke allowed himself to relax. They had done it! He breathed in the warm air and stretched out with the Force to embrace the whole planet. It felt so much different now - calm and peaceful - the Collective Mind was still dormant, trying to recover from what had been done to it, but there was a huge difference now. The Mind was no longer reaching out to him, trying to entangle him in its tendril like it had before. In fact, it shied away, avoiding him and only seeking out the killiks. Even after Luke had severed its connection to Raynar and the other joiners, he could still feel the Mind reaching for him and after Cilghal had taken care of Lomi there was still that pressing feeling. It had only stopped after Jacen had done his part.

As Luke considered all the implications, the first killiks started to regain consciousness - at first the smaller simpler ones, and a little later the larger more complex killik-beings. When they started to move around, Luke noticed that they seemed to remain completely oblivious of him, although not of each other, as if he wasn't even there. In reality, they appeared to regard him solely as an obstacle they needed to circumvent.

"Jacen?" Luke called out to his nephew, who had just exited the building.

"Yes, Uncle Luke?" Jacen answered, joining Luke.

"What did you do?" Luke asked him and Jacen felt like a ten year-old again.

"What do you mean?" Jacen looked at him faking a questioning stance. He knew exactly what Luke was asking about and there was no doubt in his mind that he had done the right thing, but he had purposely neglected to bring that subject up for discussion fearing he would be overturned and forced to disobey. Now it seemed it was time to come clean.

When Luke pointed at the killiks that were heading away from them, Jacen shrugged and began explaining his reasons.

"I might have gone a little beyond the plan, Uncle Luke." Since Luke signaled him to continue, he did. "I was thinking that, for the good of the killiks and to prevent this kind of thing from happening again, it would be better if the Collective was unable to take in any more joiners."

"Uh hum. Did you discuss your concerns with Cilghal?" Luke had now pinned his blue eyes on his nephew.

"No, Uncle, I did not."

"And you thought of it while in the middle of the battle or did you improvise it when you connected with Welk's mind?"

"I had already planned it before we came in." Jacen admitted. He was focusing on the fluctuations of Luke's Force-sense just as he knew Luke was mindful of his, so Jacen knew it was pointless to lie.

"Why did you choose to not bring this concern to the rest of us?" The Jedi Master inquired, remaining absolutely calm.

"I didn't believe you would see things my way."

"And because you didn't trust our judgment, you decided it was best to keep the matter solely in your hands?"

"It had to be done, Uncle Luke, or we'd be having the same problem again in a few years." Jacen defended himself vehemently.

"You do _not_ make a decision of this magnitude by your self, Jacen! We're talking about messing with the natural behavior of an entire species - several species as a matter of fact. It is a decision for the whole Council." Luke admonished his nephew and apprentice.

"It had to be done," Jacen insisted, "but the Council would not see it that way, it would be too concern for the welfare of the killiks, instead of seeing the whole picture. If the Collective were to take in another Force-strong joiner, it would be a disaster. Not to mention what the killiks have already done to the Chiss society."

"You don't know how the Council would view it. You should have come to me with your concerns, Jacen. I would have regarded them with the attention they deserved. You were right to consider that option and had you come to me, I would have stood by you and help you convince the Council. We could have done this as a team - with proper plans and fail-safes. You know, there is a reason why we draw our plans as a team and that is because no one has the ability to think of every contingency. I admit, I had not considered that scenario and would have been very proud if you were to put it on the table."

Jacen was about to interrupt again but Luke stopped him and continued with his lecture.

"But instead, you chose to keep it to yourself, not trusting your fellow Jedi and jeopardizing your own plan. What if something had happened to you - Force forbid - and you wouldn't have been able to carry out your plan?" Luke quieted himself and before turning away he added. "I'm disappointed in you, Jacen. You should have trusted me and your fellow Jedi - you need to rethink your standing."

Jacen was feeling truly ashamed and saddened, now. He knew his uncle was right about everything he had said and although he didn't regret carrying out his plan, he was truly sorry about not trusting Luke and the Jedi with it.

Luke, on the other hand, was completely distraught by Jacen's distrustfulness. He saw it as a bad sign, a sign that Jacen was truly keeping secrets from him and that, when faced with a difficult decision, Jacen would undoubtedly choose to keep it from those around him and with a better chance to help him. Luke was afraid that, if Jacen didn't trust his family, he would end up disconnecting himself from them. But what frightened him the most was that Jacen was willing to go over everyone else's head to get things done his way. Those were the same mistakes Anakin Skywalker had made and they had led him to his fall.

~.~.~

When the Jedi finished their search for joiners in the main city, Luke opted for dividing the ranks, having one half remain and continue the search on the planet and sending the other half to the other known killik worlds, both to search for more joiners and to report on the killik behavior there. In the meantime, he asked Jag to contact his father and explain to him the Chiss joiners' situation, so that they could be returned to their home as soon as possible.

Over the course of the next three weeks, the Jedi rescued close to one thousand three hundred and forty five former joiners, more that three quarters of which were Chiss. Also over those three weeks, Luke was glad to see that the killiks were conducting their lives as if nothing had happened, except for the fact that they continued to ignore the presence of all those non-insectoid - and all those species that belonged to the other planets soon took their dart-ships and returned to their original place. By the time the Jedi and the joiners were preparing their own departure, the only killiks remaining behind were the species that had previously called Yoggoy their home.

During this time, Jacen worked tirelessly for the common goal. He checked on the Colony's status regularly, volunteered for the search teams, ensured the wellbeing of the former joiners and always made sure to abide by the Masters' decisions - all to show his uncle and Master that he had truly taken his reprimand to heart. He didn't, however, reveal the true reason behind the emergency of his actions - to ensure his baby's safety - because in his heart, he still believed that had he not done it, very soon - far sooner - that his uncle would have guessed - there would be another Force-strong individual pulling the strings of the Colony.

~.~.~

She watched, from the safety of her cloaked ship, as the Chiss Cruisers took their leave into hyperspace and the last transports entered the Mon Calamari Cruiser's hangars.

She had come to check on her apprentice's progress and had found her whole plan had gone to Kessel. As soon as she approached the system, she felt through the Force that the entire dynamics of the killiks - their drive - had changed and she was unable to tap into the Collective Mind. It was still there, but now it rejected her. Not that she would want to dive into it like her apprentice had done, but she did want to use it for her advantage.

When she saw the presence of the Star Cruisers in system and felt the strong Force presence of the Jedi, she guessed what had happened - the Jedi had somehow anticipated her plan and had put a stop to it.

Now it was time to withdraw and carefully plan her next move. As she watched the Mon Calamari Star Cruiser disappear into hyperspace, she vowed: "We will meet again, Luke Skywalker, and this time I _will_ destroy you!"

-TBC…


	22. Chapter 22

**~ Chapter Twenty-Two ~**

The _Tradewyns's_ journey back to Ossus was mostly uneventful as the only events worth mentioning were Lomi's expected death and Raynar's recovery from the coma. It was agreed between Aryn Thul and Cilghal that the young Jedi would be staying at the Academy and that the Healer would oversee his recovery and keep Aryn fully informed of her son's progress. Aryn, on the other hand, would be allowed to visit as often as she'd like as long as she didn't disrupt the Academy's normal routine.

As for the other joiners who were native to Known Space, they had taken their ships and scattered as soon as the _Tradewyn_ had reached the Outer Rim.

When _Jade Shadow_ touched down on Academy grounds, along with the Millennium Falcon, the Pulsar Skate and eighteen X-wings, the arrivals were greeted with much enthusiasm from the students and the remaining Jedi, in fact, the first thing Luke heard when he stepped off the_Shadow's_ ramp was a high pitched "DADDY".

Seeing his own personal red-headed whirlwind racing towards him, Luke brought one knee to the ground and collected his son in his arms.

"Were you a good boy for Mommy, Ben?" Luke asked after Ben loosed his hold on his neck.

"Yes, Daddy!" Was Ben's eager answer. "I made Mommy eat _all_ her vegetables or I wouldn't eat mine."

"Mommy must have loved that." Luke laughed, while watching his lovely wife approaching them.

As she drew near, Mara made sure she turned and gave Luke a full view of her swollen stomach. Even though she was only three months along in her pregnancy, her belly was already visible under her tunic because of the two babies growing inside of her. That vision made Luke's grin widen exponentially. When Mara finally came to arms' length of her husband, he grabbed hold of her tightly with his spare arm - the other arm was occupied with Ben - and gave her a deep, lingering kiss. Their kiss was interrupted when Ben decided they had had enough and began claiming his parents' attention.

"Daddy, Daddy, I also made Mommy go to bed on time and I read to my baby sisters." Ben continued, making sure he gave a full account on how he was a very good boy.

"He read?" Luke whispered to his wife, while Ben continued his report.

Mara chuckled and answered: "He makes me lie down, picks up the datapad and starts making up the most senseless stories you'll ever hear. I have to draw on every bit of my training to keep from laughing."

As the rest of the family came close, Ben was scooped out of his father's arm by his aunt that claimed her kiss from the boy. Since their son was now otherwise distracted by the rest of the family, Luke took the opportunity to fully embrace his wife and kiss her again.

"How have you been feeling?" Luke asked her, with more curiosity than concern since Mara looked very well.

"Pretty good! The nausea is almost gone and since my back hasn't begun aching yet, I'm feeling very well. Of course, I have to visit the 'fresher every hour on the hour."

Luke placed one hand on her bump and reached inside with the Force. He felt their two babies, safe, warm and comfortable, growing healthy and loved.

"Maybe later we can ask Cilghal to show us what's going on in there." Mara said. It had been about a month and a half since her last checkup and, although she knew everything was well, she was looking forward to see her babies' holos.

"I don't think we'll need to ask. Cilghal hasn't been quiet about her intent on checking their development since we left the Unknown Regions." Luke replied, amused by the Healer's excitement about the twins.

On the other side of the landing field, the _Tradewyn's_ transport landed; it was carrying Raynar and his family, who had come to help the young man settle in his knew home. As he stepped off the ramp, Mara turned back to Luke and inquired about the mission.

"It went well!" He answered and she sensed his relief about the whole thing, but also a sense of worry.

"Then why are you troubled?"

"Something happened with Jacen, but I called him up on it and things seem to be better now." He said, and then noticing they were not alone, added. "I'll explain later."

"So, what's new here?" Han asked, approaching the couple and returning Ben to his father's arms.

"Let's see - Chief Omas has commed several times looking for you," Mara answered turning to Luke, "he was ranting something about the High Council; Oh, and they set a date for Thrackan's trial, the Court summoned Jaina and the two of you to testify." She continued turning back to the Solos.

"When is it?" Jaina questioned.

"It's in four weeks on Coronet City Grand Hall."

"We'll be there." Leia stated. There was no way she was going to miss out on the chance to put that Sal-Solo scum-bag away for a very long time.

~.~.~

A while later that day, Jaina was headed to the com room when she ran into her brother who was coming out of it.

"Hey, sis, gonna call your boyfriend?" Jacen teased, half expecting Jaina to reply that he wasn't her boyfriend. Her answer, however, was quite the opposite.

"Why, yes I am, bro!"

Jag had gone to Csilla with the Chiss Star Cruisers, seeing as his father had put him in charge of the returning of the joiners and neither Jacen nor Jaina knew for sure how long it would be before he could return. Jaina had promised him to stay in touch for as long as it took for them to be reunited.

"And you, did you get an important call or were you just checking up on Tenel Ka?" It was Jaina's turn to tease.

"I have to go to Coruscant and check on the World Brain. The Coruscant Rebuilding Committee is ready to start working but the Brain is throwing a tantrum."

"Think of it as practice." Jaina remarked. "Won't you go check on Tenel Ka, too?"

Jacen smiled and answered his very insightful sister. "You know me too well, Jaya."

"Make sure you give her my love." Just before entering the com room, Jaina added. "Jacen, you really should consider telling Mom and Dad about the baby. You know they'll love to know and I really don't see what the problem is."

"Tenel Ka is worried about the baby's safety. She's afraid that if those _vine snakes_ she has to deal with find out about the baby, they will hurt her."

"All the more reason to tell them, Jacen. What are you and Tenel Ka going to do, keep the kid hidden for the rest of her life? Mom and Dad will be glad to help." Jaina shook her head at her brother's stubbornness. "It's just like what Uncle Luke told you about your plan for the killiks - it is far more likely for things to go wrong if you keep 'em all to yourself. You need to trust us to help you! Don't you trust us, Jacen?"

"Of course I trust you, Jaina." He admitted without any regret. "I'm gonna talk to Tenel Ka about this, ok?"

"You do that." Jaina advised just before retreating into the com room. Her brother could be so stubborn sometimes.

~.~

Once settled in front of the com station, Jaina started configuring the long distance com call to Csilla. She entered all the right codes and set all the right protocols and then waited, silently thanking the Force for the reestablishment and improvement of the Holonet that now allowed for such distant communications.

When the com call finally connected, Jaina was happy to hear Jag's voice, even if it was somewhat ragged and distorted. She played with the holo controls trying to get a visual, but at this distance it was a futile effort.

"Hey, Colonel! Did you miss me?" She inquired in as amused tone.

"I always miss my Goddess. Did you arrive on Ossus?"

"Yes, this morning. Did all the joiners arrive safely?"

"Yes, although some of the other Ruling Families might have preferred if they didn't." Jag wrapped up that subject - Chiss politics was a far too complicated and underhanded matter to waste time on when they had so little of it to talk.

So-" She began the question she was itching to ask, but still attempting to make it sound casual. "-When are you coming back?"

"My Father will be taking up the Ambassadorial Office on Denon within five weeks. But we've already started to pack. I might have to go earlier to ensure the Security Protocols are in place for the new Ambassador."

"Of course, you are a very efficient and professional Chief of Security." She teased, already anticipating their eager reunion.

"What about you, Jaina. What are your plans for the near future? You wouldn't happen to have to go on some sort of mission to Denon, would you?"

"Oh, stang! I have to go to Corellia. I'm supposed to testify at Thrackan Sal-Solo's trial in four weeks." She remembered.

"Um! Well at least Corellia is closer to Denon than Ossus is. And besides, if I arrive early, we might be able to work something out." Jag proposed, since he wasn't about to give up that easily.

Jaina's smile widened. "I believe we can, Colonel Fel. I look forward to hearing from you soon."

With that they bid their farewells hoping their time apart would be shorter rather than longer.

~.~.~

That same night, after they had put their lively toddler to sleep, Luke explained to Mara what was troubling him about Jacen. She was lying in bed while he indulged in one of his favorite activities involving pregnant Mara - rubbing her swollen abdomen with _amendoan oil_. When he finished explaining, he kept on rubbing even though the oil had long been absorbed.

"You're concerned because he's overstepping his boundaries." Mara concluded.

"That, and he's keeping important secrets from the rest of us." Luke confirmed as he added more oil on Mara's stomach.

"I see your point! Now give me that bottle before you use it all up." Mara demanded and stretched her hand for the bottle of oil. He handed it over and continued with the rubbing. "What did Cilghal say about it?"

"She pointed out that he seems to be taking my lecture to heart and that he's making a real effort to make amends. I just wish I knew what's going on inside his head."

"If only he'd open up to someone…" Mara mused. "You know, he has opened up to someone." To Luke's inquiring eye, she clarified. "To Jaina. I've seen they exchanging glances on several occasions, and Jacen trusts her. If he has confided in Jaina, then it's only a matter of time before she convinces him to come to us."

"Or we could go to her and ask." Luke suggested.

"We better not. Jaina is not going to break Jacen's trust in her unless she believes it is absolutely necessary, and then _she_ will come to us. In the meantime, we try to figure it out for ourselves."

"That's ironic. The first vision I got showed Jaina killing Dark Jacen, it would be very fitting if she turned out to be instrumental in helping him avoid that fate."

"Luke," Mara called upon his full attention, "Jacen made a bad call back there, but everybody has the right to take a few bad steps. You have, I have… Jaina has too and so have most of the Jedi. It doesn't mean we've lost him, but it does mean that, if he has really acknowledged his bad step, he will be more open to the right kind of guidance."

Luke nodded in agreement and lay down next to Mara, wrapping her with his arms.

"Besides," she concluded, "it seems he did help avert a future killik crisis and, from what you told me, I'm glad the killiks might have trouble absorbing more joiners."

"Oh, yeah!" Luke let out a sigh and one last shiver as he recalled the Swarm War from his vision.

-TBC…


	23. Chapter 23

**~ Chapter Twenty-Three ~**

Jacen watched in the shadows as the two Hapan guards passed by him in their night rounds. He had snuck into the Hapan Palace and was fully intent in keeping his visit a secret from everyone except the one he had come to see. When the guards turned the corner, he rushed to the wall and started climbing the vines. It was a long way up, but his Force strengthened muscles endured the task easily.

When he reached the top balcony, he stretched his Force-sense to scan the entire inside chamber. Soon enough, the sliding door opened and a very sleepy Tenel Ka appeared.

"Jacen? What are you doing here?" Tenel Ka inquired in a very surprised tone.

"I came to see you and our baby." Jacen stated, grinning widely at her.

"How did you get here?"

"I thought that was obvious - I climbed to your window, like in that play you like so much." He replied, teasing her.

"Oh, Jacen! You're so silly."

"Would you rather I serenade you, my lady?"

"No, definitely not! You're crazy." Tenel Ka remarked as she grabbed the front of his tunic and pulled him in.

"Did anyone see you?" Tenel Ka asked with extreme concern.

"Of course not!" He assured her, then held her tight and kissed her deeply, basking in her presence and that of their baby inside her. When he pulled back, he studied her face and the small bump on her stomach.

"How are you two doing? Have you been feeling nauseous, bloated, constipated? Are you spotting?"

"Jacen!" Tenel Ka stopped his inquiry, somewhat shocked by his questions. "That training with Master Cilghal is messing with your head."

"Sorry, I've been through every pregnancy related datacard in Master Cilghal's archives and I'm always asking questions. They think I'm curious about Aunt Mara, but I still have to restrain myself and not let my questions be too inquisitive."

"How _is_ Mara doing?" Tenel Ka inquired, since she had always liked and looked up to Mara Jade Skywalker.

"She's very well, but her stomach is much bigger than yours."

"It _would be_, Jacen."

Jacen shrugged and smiled at her. "You haven't answered my questions, Tenel Ka."

"I'm fine, Jacen! But the morning sickness is awful."

"I've brought you something for that. It's an infusion Master Cilghal gave Mara. It helped her greatly." Jacen explained as he took out a parcel and handed it to her. "You're supposed to take one cup before breakfast."

Tenel Ka took the parcel and thanked him with a kiss, then she removed his cloak and dragged him to bed.

~.~

Over an hour later, they were both lying in bed, Tenel Ka on her back and Jacen on his side, with his hand on her stomach, sensing the life growing inside of her.

"There is something bothering you, Jacen. Will you tell me what it is?"

He hesitated before answering. "I had a misunderstanding with Uncle Luke, or rather he had a misunderstanding with me."

"What happened?" She encouraged him to proceed.

"I believed something more had to be done so I took matters into my own hands, without the approval or even the knowledge of the Council. When Uncle Luke found out, he reprimanded me."

"He disagreed with your actions?"

"He disagreed with my negation of the Council." Jacen wished that he could go back and changed things, especially now that he knew his uncle would have stood by him before the Council. "He was right, I shouldn't have done that."

"My Mother once told me that the most painful lessons are always the ones we learn better. I should know." Tenel Ka affirmed, raising her stumped arm in example.

Jacen gave her a sad smile and kissed her stump.

"I fear my misstep has broken my uncle's trust in me. He was already a little suspicious before, sensing our little secret, but now I think he believes I'm purposely hiding important things from him."

"My dear Jacen… I've put you in such a difficult position, haven't I?"

"I told Jaina about us and the baby." He confessed, relieved to finally do it. "Or should I say, I confirmed it, because she apparently read it on my face."

"Jaina always knew you so well. I'm glad that hasn't changed." She gave him a reassuring smile, assuring him she wasn't upset over his disclosure of their secret.

"She thinks we should be upfront with Mom and Dad. She says they'd help us."

Tenel Ka took a deep breath and studied him closely. "You'd like to tell them wouldn't you? And show your uncle you can be trusted."

"Don't you trust my family? I was always under the impression that you did, but-"

Tenel Ka stopped him before he continued his plea. "I do trust your family, Jacen. I guess I only asked you to keep this from them because I can't confide in my own family. My Father loves me, but wouldn't be able to keep this a secret from my ever-scheming grandmother, Ta' Chume, and she is on the top of the dangerous list."

"I'm sorry for that, my darling."

"Of course you can tell your family, my love."

Jacen's smile grew wider and his Force-sense lighter with Tenel Ka's permission and she was glad she could provide him with relief.

"Do you think your uncle will make us get married when he finds out?" She questioned.

Jacen chuckled as he imagined his uncle's, and the rest of the family's, reaction.

"Would that be a bad thing?" He answered, only half kidding. "We could be married I secret, with only family as witnesses."

She laughed at that notion and said: "Wouldn't that be romantic?"

"It would be very romantic." He concluded and kissed her deeply.

They were quiet for a while, imagining the kind of celebration they would like to have for a wedding and for their daughter's birth.

"Have you considered where are you gonna go when she gets too big to hide?" Jacen asked a little later.

"Not yet." Tenel Ka admitted. "I'm considering several places, but in any of them I'll have to confide in someone there, but I don't know who to trust."

Jacen waited for a moment, expecting her to continue. When she didn't he proposed: "What about the Jedi Academy? Once I tell my parents about us, they'll be more than happy to have you there. You'd have the best medical care with Cilghal and you could exchange pregnant stories with Aunt Mara. It would be perfect!"

Tenel Ka considered his suggestion for a moment and then gave him her answer.

"Yes, Jacen, that might be the best idea yet."

~.~.~

In another part of the galaxy, an unidentified ship docked in the hangar of a large iron asteroid. From inside it emerged Lumiya, Dark Lady of the Sith, her strong dark Force-sense spraying around her like a sent or clung to her like a thick fog.

Not even a week in hyperspace had dimmed her fury, in fact, it had only fueled it. When the maintenance droid appeared in front of her, she hit with such a strong discharge of Force-lightning, it had burst into flames.

"Temper, temper!" The hooded figure remarked from the opposite side of the room. "What took you so long?"

Lumiya threw her companion a sharp look, as cold as her metal-gray pupils would allow. "Skywalker showed up with his Jedi and ruined everything. They took Lomi, killed Welk and screwed up the Collective Mind. They shredded my entire plan."

"Your plan was stupid to begin with. What did you think? That the Jedi would let you manipulate those idiots into turning the killiks into an army and sweep the galaxy?"

"The plan was to have the killiks distract the Jedi while I strengthen the Sith and prepared the terrain for the next Darth Vader. You know that!"

"Ridiculous plan." The head under the hood shook and creepy sounding chuckles emerged. "Skywalker's Jedi have been back for over two weeks, so what kept you?"

"I was trying to salvage something, but it was a void effort. What ever they did to those killiks, it was permanent." Lumiya admitted bitterly.

"What will you do now?"

"I need to find a way to bring Jacen Solo to our side as soon as possible - move up that part of the plan, before Skywalker finds a way to stop_ that_ too. I still can't figure out how he found out about the killiks."

"Probably through the Force. He did have one of his students there, maybe the boy contacted him."

"No, I had that boy under control. I don't know how he managed to break free, but I bet it was only after Skywalker's arrival."

"You underestimate Luke Skywalker, you always have! You need to take notice of that."

"What I need is to find me a spy in the Jedi Order."

-TBC…


	24. Chapter 24

**~ Chapter Twenty-Four ~**

The Masters Council was gathered in their meeting room for the sole purpose of discussing Chief Omas' latest fret. He had argued with Luke over the Holonet all morning, about the Jedi being unavailable for over a month and a half, for Luke not returning his calls as soon as he got back and instead sending Kyp Durron to the last High Council meeting, for not placing the entire Jedi Order at the GA's disposition, and other such complains. Only Luke's extreme Jedi patience had kept him from hanging up on the Chief of State.

By the end of the com-call, Chief Omas had told Luke that it was no longer the will of the GA to have six Jedi on the High Council and that it would be preferable if the Jedi Order were to choose one representative, a leader if you will, with a mere advisory role to sit on the Council. Since Luke had already considered that option, based on his visions of the Jedi Order in disarray from the lack of a unifying leader, he agreed with the Chief of State's demand.

"So we've been thrown out of the High Council! I don't know whether to be insulted or relieved." Kyp mused, with a half smile.

"What did you tell him, anyway?" Corran inquired, turning to Kyp.

"That we're not his hound dogs, to come whenever he whistles."

"You can't talk that way to the Chief of State, Master Durron." Kenth Hamner stated vehemently. He was probably the one most upset with the situation, having been liaison between the Jedi and the government for as long as he had.

"Why not?" Kyp replied. "He's not my better… and I'm not his maid."

"Masters, please!" Luke interrupted the argument before it got out of hand. "We have to agree on this."

"Are we appointing a Grand Master or just a representative?" Kam asked the group.

"I think it makes sense to have a Grand Master, and if for some reason he is unable to fulfill his duties, he nominates a representative." Cilghal proposed. "He or she - I'm not ruling anyone out." She added right after.

"Or, if he - _or she_ - is unable for a long period of time, then we'll appoint another Gran-Master." Tresina Lobi suggested.

"What about our Jedi Council, what happens to it?" Was Kyle Katarn's question.

"I believe it should remain the same, only presided by the Grand Master." Mara answered.

"But the Grand Master would have the power to overrule the Council." Katarn insisted.

"I think that would only happen if the Council was in a stand still. It, lets say, two thirds of the Council agreed on something, then the Gran Master would have to go along with it." Luke explained. "And if the Grand Master - Force forbid - should become corrupt, then the Council has the power to overthrown him."

"How do we appoint a Gran Master?" Tionne asked.

"I think we should put it to a vote." Cilghal suggested. "But I think first we should all agree on the statutes of the position.

A couple of hours later, they had all agreed on the underlines rules that would guide the position of Grand Master: the Grand Master would be elected by the members of the Council every five years; it would take two thirds of the Council to elect the Grand Master; it would also take two thirds of the Council to depose the Grand Master; also, to overrule the Grand Master's decision would take two thirds of the Council.

"It would seem _'two thirds'_ is a very big thing for us." Kyp snickered.

"Do you have a problem with it?" Kenth questioned a bit aggressively.

"No, not at all!" Kyp defended himself, since he was making a little joke.

"And to finish, the Grand Master will appoint a Secretary and, when necessary, a substitute without the need for the Council's approval, although the Council may suggest on the decision." Cilghal concluded the reading of the document. "Now, shall we proceed with the vote?" At everyone's acknowledgment, she asked: "Who will be the first nominee?"

"This one submitz the name of Luke Zkywalker." Saba declared, and several nodded their agreement.

"Very well, anyone seconds the nomination?" As several arms stood up, Cilghal added. "One arm is enough." The Masters looked at each other and all lowered their arms except for Corran, who was officially declared as having second the nomination.

"Any other nominations?" As no one came forth, the Healer insisted. "Come on people, we need another name."

"I nominate Kenth Hamner." Kyle stated.

"I second that nomination." Luke quickly affirmed.

"I'm not sure you can." Cilghal turned to him and then just shrugged. "Oh, whatever! Any one else?"

Since nobody else stepped forward, she continued with the vote.

"Alright, hands up for Master Skywalker." All hands were raised except for Luke's. "Uh hum! And rise of hands for Master Hamner." Luke's hand was the only one up. "Master Skywalker is our new Grand Master. Would you like to appoint your Second and Secretary at his point?"

"Sure why not! I'll abide by the Council's decision on that and propose Master Hamner for my Second - all those in favor?" All Masters raised their hands except for Kenth who believed it was wrong to vote for oneself, although he too though of himself was the logical choice. "Good! As for the place of Secretary, three names come to mind, although if anyone has another suggestion I'd be glad to hear it. I propose either, Tionne - who is doing a splendid job with the Academy; Mara - of whom no one doubts her organizational skills; and Cilghal - who has demonstrated her talents by leading this past vote."

After much discussion, and excuses from two of the nominees who really didn't want the hassle of the position, it was decided that Mara would serve has Secretary, being substituted by Tionne when unable to attend.

When the meeting was deemed terminated, and after the Masters had cleared the room, Mara circled her husband and asked in a husky tone: "Do I have to call you _Grand Master_, now?"

"Of course you do, _Madam Secretary_!" He answered in a tone that matched hers.

Suddenly, they were both very eager to get behind locked doors.

~.~.~

A few days later, there was a party at the Skywalker homestead. It was the first time they got to celebrate their son's lifeday as a family and the _entire_

family was there, as well as many friends. There were so many people there, that the Skywalker bungalow soon became too small to contain them, and the party spread outwards, encompassing all the grounds of the Academy.

There were tables spread out all over the lawn, a lot of noise, treats and drinking. In a central table sat the Skywalkers, the Solos, the Calrissians, the Antilles, Talon Karrde and Shada. They were talking amiably while keeping a close watch on the pack of younglings in front of them, Ben among them. When Jacen took a seat at the table next to his sister, she asked him, pointing to the wrapped parcel in his hands: "Is that a model X-wing?"

"Yeah, how did you know?"

"Ben already has enough squadrons to defend the planet. He even has an official Rogue Squadron jacket and helmet." Jaina chortled and pointed to the young boy who was wearing a jacket several sizes too big and was sitting on top of the helmet.

"Hey, I thought about getting him a pet, but then Aunt Mara would kill me. What did you get him?"

"A folk tales datacard with traditional stories from every planet. Ben likes his stories."

As Jaina answered, a burst of laughter erupted from the children in front of them. They were all gathered, watching Zekk and Evlyn play out some crazy story with puppets and they were loving it. It didn't escape Jacen how comfortable Evlyn seemed around Zekk, and vice-versa.

"Well, that's new!" Jacen remarked, pointing to them.

"Zekk has been helping Evie with her lightsaber techniques." Jaina explained and smiled. "They're so cute together, aren't they?"

"They sure are." He agreed, with much amusement.

Jaina turned towards him and studied her twin's Force-sense.

"You feel _better_, Jacen, lighter."

He lowered his voice to a mere whisper and looked around the table. Everyone else was too enwrapped in conversation to notice them talking.

"I've spoken to Tenel Ka about you know what and she agreed to let the family in on it. Further more, she agreed to come to the Academy when she can no longer hide it."

"Then why are we whispering?"

"Today is Ben's day. I don't want to divert attention to me. It can wait."

"But Mom, Dad and me are going to Corellia in two days!" Jaina informed him.

"Don't pressure me, Jaina! I'm working out the courage, it's not easy." Jacen pleaded, his whispers rising in pitch, but trying to not attract attention.

"Okay! I'm glad you've decided." She patted his hand in a very sisterly gesture.

"Oh, look who's just come around the corner." He pointed to the other side of the bungalow.

Jaina turned to see who he was pointing at and saw a tall dark man, looking around as if to locate someone and she could almost make out his deep green eyes locking on her. She got up and ran to him. Then, she threw her arms around the man's neck and gave a very long and deep kiss.

~.~.~

Early the next morning, Jacen approached his parents who were having breakfast at their bungalow's eating area and, encouraged by his sister who was standing right next to him, he cleared his throat and started: "Mom, Dad - I have something to tell you."

Leia, noticing her son's nervous tone and demeanor, sent him waves of support through the Force and signaled him to continue.

"I've… I'd… I'm… I'm gonna be a father." He finally blurted out.

The looks on both his parents' faces were of absolute astonishment. His father actually turned white.

"Ah, alright," Leia started, "sit down Jacen! I assume this has already happened and it's not a future plan."

"I'm gonna be a father in about five and a half months." Jacen admitted.

"With whom?" Han asked. "Oh, never mind - Tenel Ka, right?"

"Yes, Dad."

"Did you know about this, young lady?" Han then turned to his daughter who had chosen to remain where she stood.

"Yes I did, Dad."

"Are you pregnant too?" Han demanded of her. "'Cause if you are, I'm gonna kill that kid!"

"No, Dad! I'm not pregnant. I'm out of here, you're on your own, brother." With that Jaina exited the room and went to find her breakfast elsewhere.

Now Han's and Leia's attention were focused solely on Jacen.

"Alright, Kid, What are you gonna do about it?" Han questioned, implying what he thought his son should do about the matter.

Jacen proceeded to explain the situation to them. How Tenel Ka didn't think the Hapan noble caste would look favorably to her marrying a Jedi; how she believed their child was in danger if anyone found out about her; how much he loved them and wanted to be with them and so on.

"What do you mean, the Hapans are wary of Jedi? They tried to have Isolder marry your mother _and _your sister." Han said, confused by the scenario.

"Jacen is right." Leia, affirmed. "The noble caste has always been wary of Jedi. But Ta'a Chume has great influence among them and both me and Jaina were her choices more than Isolder's. This would not be the case with Jacen."

"So, I ask again - what are you going to do?" Han repeated, but his tone was completely different now.

"For now, we'll keep the existence of the baby a secret. After she is born, we'll see."

Leia reached out and stroked her son's back, comforting him. "I'm glad you told us. But for now I have to get used to the idea of being a grandmother."

~.~.~

Right after breakfast, Leia accompanied Jacen to the Skywalkers so that he could break the news to them. Jacen was feeling a bit nervous about it, mostly because of the tension between him and his uncle, but he hoped that the revelation would go a long way to healing the gap between them.

Once inside, and after Luke and Mara had fed their son and finished their own breakfast, Jacen told them about Tenel Ka and the baby. Immediately Jacen could feel his uncle's acceptance and when Luke got up from his seat to embrace his nephew, Jacen felt that the distrustful gap was truly mending.

When Jacen left the Skywalker bungalow alone, as his mother had stayed to exchange some ideas with Mara, he felt so well and at peace, he could feel the Force flowing through him, strengthening him up from inside, without even trying.

-TBC…


	25. Chapter 25

**~ Chapter Twenty-Five ~**

It was a bright and sunny day in Coronet City, and Leia was standing by the window of her hotel room, watching the speeder traffic go by and rubbing her left temple with her middle finger. Her husband was still having his sanisteam and her daughter was in her own room, probably in the middle of another com-call with Jag. They had been on Corellia for three weeks now, as Thrackan's trial proceeded, his lawyers going out of their way to stall, while the prosecutor did everything in his power to move things along as swiftly as possible. Fortunately, the judge was also very keen in speeding up the trial and so, after a record time of three weeks, he was going to give out the sentence that same day and the Solos, even though they had given their testimony and were no longer needed for the proceedings, had stuck around for the sole purpose of seeing it through.

Despite the fact that everything was going accordingly and the whole case was, as the prosecutor had put it, in the bag, Leia still had this lingering feeling that something was bound to go wrong - nothing ever went this smoothly when her family was concerned - and she knew that that feeling was the cause for her migraine. She immersed herself in the Force and tried to get a better sense of what would happen but her mind was too worked up to relax and all she accomplished was an increase in her headache.

_'I really need to complete my training.' _Leia thought to herself. She decided she'd talk to Luke about it as soon as she returned to the Academy. Then again, with the new baby - her granddaughter - coming, not to mention her new nieces, it might not be that easy to finish Jedi training. Of course, her training would be the perfect excuse to get out of diaper and cry-baby duty, Leia mused and chortled at the thought.

Her mind flew to the two pregnant women, both of whom were around five months pregnant, ordinarily they would be due at about the same time, but Mara - with her twin pregnancy - would probably be delivering first. Her sister-in-law already looked like she was full term - poor Mara, Leia knew exactly how she felt. As for Tenel Ka, Leia had no idea how she was doing or how big she was, what she did know was that Jacen would be bringing her to the Academy within the next few weeks and then Leia would have her whole family around her.

Leia's train of thought was cut short when Han came out of the 'fresher and asked her if she had seen his boots.

~.~.~

Han was sitting on one of the hover-balconies of the largest Court Hall of Coronet City. Beside him were his wife and his daughter and all around him were more hover-balconies, occupied by several beings of different races, mostly holoreporters but also Corellian dignitaries, other attorneys, law students and even some snoops who just wanted to see Thrackan squirm. In front of them all was the judge's balcony, hovering in mid-air where everyone could see. To his right, in another hover-balcony, floating lower that the judge's, were the prosecutor and his assistants. Thrackan himself was standing with his lawyer in another hover-balcony, in the middle of the room and facing the judge.

Because the Defense had successfully been able to dispense with the jury, by clamming that Sal-Solo's history in Corellia prevented him from getting an impartial judgment by his peers and insisting that he be trialed solely according to the letter of the law, the final decision rested on the judge who would pass sentence after reviewing the entire case.

The judge had been reading the summary of the trial for three long hours, explaining all the facts and all the evidences presented, and linking them to the law, when Han saw something glitter in Thrackan's hand - some sort of switch device or maybe a commlink. Thrackan, as if guessing Han's attention, quickly slipped the thing into his jacket pocket and pretended to be listening to the judge.

"By all that was here stated, I - as Corellia's Grand-Magister - declare thee, Thrackan Sal-Solo, guilty on all charges. And I hereby sentence you to forty years in Dorthus Tal Prison. You are to be escorted there immediately." The judge finally declared and signed the sentence, thereby ending the procedures.

It seemed to Han that Thrackan was expecting this because of the evil little smirk that surfaced on his lips. He reached inside his pocket and must have triggered something because, all of a sudden, a big blast shook the building and, right after that, a second blast opened a hole in the chamber's back wall.

The events that followed happened too fast for Han to follow, mainly because Leia and Jaina had pulled him down just a split second before the blast, undoubtedly warned by their sharp Jedi danger-sense. When he finally got back to his feet, all the balconies had descended to the floor - an embedded safety procedure - and the room had been overrun by a dozen armed men, shooting their blasters left and right at the beings inside, attempting to take out the guards and promote a panic. Han saw that the judge had already been 'taken care of', as were several of the guards, and a large number of beings were injured and had ducked inside their balconies.

Jaina and Leia were already in the middle of the action, lightsabers ignited, making the blaster shots bounce away from the people and back to their assailants. He quickly reached for his own trusted blaster, only to not find it because he had been forced to leave it at the entrance. _'Well, at least they let the girls bring their lightsabers in.' _Han thought while he tried to reach one of the fallen guards and take his blaster.

As Han jumped and crouched into the middle of the many balconies, he heard his name being called out. When he stood and turned to the one who had called him, Han found Thrackan looking down on him from the top of the pile of rubble that had been the back wall, and pointing a blaster at his chest.

"Good-bye, cousin!" Thrackan saluted him just before pressing the trigger several times.

Han was thrown behind the balcony's chairs, but before he hit the floor he felt a sharp pain in his left arm and saw, standing between him and Thrackan, a figure holding a blue lightsaber.

~.~

From the other side of the room, Jaina watched the scene as if it were in slow motion. She saw Thrackan calling her father's name and immediately knew what was about to happen. Being too far to be able to physically interfere, Jaina stretched with the Force and pulled his down just has the first shot was reaching him. She felt her father's pain when it seared his arm and witnessed her mother jumping in front of him, diverting the other blaster shots back to where they came from.

The last thing Jaina saw, before time resumed its normal pace, was Thrackan being hit by the same shots he had fired. He was dead before he hit the floor.

~.~.~

Much later that same day, Jag entered the Coronet City Hotel where Jaina was staying with her parents and without any hesitation, rushed into the turbolift and pressed the code for Jaina's floor.

The minute he heard about the attack over the Holonet, he had jumped on his clawcraft and had flown to Corellia. Fortunately he was only four hours away.

He didn't even have to knock on the door since Jaina, no doubt sensing his approach, opened the sliding-door just as he was reaching for it. The two lovers immediately fell into each other's arms, Jag holding Jaina tightly while stroking her hair.

"I came as soon as I heard." He said after kissing her fiercely. "How's your father?"

"He's ok, now. The blaster bolt just grazed his arm, and Mom took care of it." Jaina answered him and in her voice he could hear the fear she had felt for Han at the time.

Jag led her back inside and sat her on the bedroom's only couch. He sat down right next to her, holding her hand.

"It was awful, Jag! They just blasted through the wall and started shooting at everyone. They killed the judge and four guards, there were over fifty injured and some of them are in pretty bad shape. It was just me and Mom to protect over one hundred people, we didn't know which side to turn to."

"I think you two did a splendid job." Jag assured her while warming both her hands in his - her hands were so cold. "I know your mother got Sal-Solo, but what happened to the others?"

"Reinforcements arrived and took down the ones we didn't get." Jaina answered and then sighed. "It was so close, Jag, I almost lost my Dad today."

~.~

In the meantime, in Han and Leia's room, Leia was talking to Luke over the Holonet. He too had listened to the news, and before that had sensed his sister's and his niece's distress. Han was by her side, his injured arm in a brace, refusing to lie down even if the medication he had been given did make him drowsy.

"And that's what happened." Leia declared at the finish of her account of the events.

"It could have been a lot worse." Luke responded from the other side of the call.

"Yes, it might not be very Jedi like, but to be frank I'm immensely relieved Thrackan is no longer among us." She admitted to them.

"Me too, Sweetheart! He might have been a relative, but he was no family of mine." Han affirmed and kissed her cheek before turning back to Luke. "Tell me something, Luke - did you see anything regarding Thrackan in your visions?"

Luke's look said far more than his words. "Let's just say, Han, that I too am glad he will not be living his future."

-TBC…


	26. Chapter 26

**~ Chapter Twenty-Six ~**

Alema Rar wandered around the dark alleys of Worldport in Ord Mantell, half drunk and in a very bad mood. She had been sent there by the Order, or rather volunteered, to investigate some claims about some Yuuzhan Vong warriors in ooglith masquer hiding in the city's underground, but so far it had been a moot effort. If there were Vong in that underground community, they had to be buried, for that was the only place Alema hadn't looked yet.

For a lack of something better to do, and because she really didn't want to go back to Ossus, Alema was now treating herself to every drink and male companion she could get her hands on. She was in no way conscious that she was being watched.

~.~

Lumiya was watching the blue Twi'lek Jedi as she stumbled along the darkened path, not caring about appearances. The Dark Lady could sense the Twi'lek's roiling emotions through the Force and recognized the touch of darkness in them. She was perfect for the kind of assignment Lumiya had in mind - the best of all the candidates Lumiya had. Now she just needed a little push in the _wrong_ direction.

The Dark Lady of the Sith summoned the Force to her and projected into the Twi'lek's mind an illusion of a Yuuzhan Vong warrior, amphistaff at hand, charging with full strength.

~.~

When Alema saw the Vong warrior, she was taken aback by the surprise and the swiftness of the attack, but not for long. She quickly pulled out her lightsaber, igniting it in one smooth motion and charged with all her concealed anger. These creatures were to blame for her sister's death and she would gladly make each and everyone of them pay for it a thousand times over.

~.~

Lumiya watched the duel through the Force with much amusement, guiding the warrior's movements with her will In order to bring out the _best_ in Alema. The Twi'lek girl responded very well and Lumiya actually began to wonder if she wouldn't make a better candidate than Jacen Solo. She soon put that thought aside because there was far too much pure rage in the girl, and not enough smarts.

Unlike what most people thought, a Sith could not give into rage that easily or would loose focus of his, our hers, primal objective and eventually would just go mad. Sometimes the best course of action, even for a Sith, was to keep all surrounding events carefully controlled, at least that was what her former master, Vergere, had taught her. Alema would do nicely, not as a Sith apprentice but as a Dark Acolyte - a foot-soldier that would follow orders without questioning them.

The duel did not last very long, and soon Lumiya mandated the illusion of the warrior to fall under Alema's strikes. What happened next confirmed Lumiya's earlier assessments of the Twi'lek Jedi, because when the warrior looked up to his opponent from the ground, she looked him in the eyes and cut off his head.

"My, my… what anger." The Dark Lady appraised and stepped forward.

Alema turned to face the voice and halted at the sight before her. She saw someone who clearly was a woman, but was taller than herself, wore a dark and formfitting body-armor and a mask covering the lower portion of her face. Her eyes shone in the night like those of a wild beast and she had something akin to a lightsaber, only with a smaller handle hanging from her belt.

"Who are you? What do you want from me?" The Twi'lek demanded from the mysterious woman, not caring if her questions sounded aggressive.

"Let me introduce myself - I am Lumiya, and I wish to speak to you about a philosophy of the Force that allows for so much more freedom than the one taught by the Jedi Order."

"You are a Sith." Alema affirmed. She had heard stories about Lumyia in the Academy and had always felt a kind of half-hearted curiosity towards her.

"You have heard of me!" Lumiya exclaimed proudly. "Come with me, child, and I will tell you about my vision of the Force."

~.~.~

Alema had been listening to Lumiya's smooth speech for the better part of three days, enough time to realize that the Dark Lady was only trying to lure her to her side and that all her promises of wielding vast powers were void. Alema understood now that Lumiya was only looking for a mole to plant inside the Jedi Order, and that she would only teach her the indispensable skills for that task and nothing more. In fact, the moment Lumiya began asking questions about Jacen, Alema saw that it was he that the Dark Lady hoped to lure into taking a position as her apprentice.

That made Alema mad - just who did this sithy _bicce_ think she was, to put Alema Rar down like that and raise Jacen Solo above her. Still she decided to shield her true feelings and play along a little longer. Who knew, maybe if Alema could collect good enough information and give it to Skywalker, he would be more partial towards her.

On the afternoon of the third day, Alema felt a stir in the Force, like a dark mist was rising around her, getting thicker and thicker until it blocked away all the dim light surrounding her. It was clear that someone very dark and powerful was approaching.

When the sliding door opened and the cloaked figure came into the room, Alema could not turn her eyes away, she was mesmerized by the being that had just entered. The person was human - Alema had no doubt about that - but because the cloak and hood covered most of the person's body, she could not tell anything else. She tried to feel the being in front of her through the Force but found only a dark shadow - it was not like with the Vong, who didn't exist in the Force, this being existed but it was a twisted existence, like it wasn't meant to be.

Then the person spoke and its voice was crackled and hissed.

"Is this the one you have chosen to do your biding?" The person asked Lumiya, pointing a finger at Alema.

The Twi'lek could do nothing more than to stare at that finger. It was crooked, like that of an old person, the skin covering it was grayish and yellow combined and the nail was thick and dark gray.

"I think she will do nicely, don't you?" Lumiya answered, and in the back of her head Alema asked herself each one was the Master. They seemed to be on equal standing, neither bowing to the other but Alema knew that wasn't the Sith way, there should be a Master and an Apprentice - these two felt more like allies.

"Maybe," the cloaked figure replied and then leaned in towards Alema and looked her in the eyes. The person's pupils were huge dark pits, surrounded by a metal gray circle and by yellow where they should have been white.

"What do you say, young Twi'lek? Are you what we're looking for?" The breath that assaulted Alema was fowl and the Twi'lek had the urge to pull away, but was unable to.

"I am the one!" Alema answered, but in the back of her mind she knew it was a lie, that she would not bow to them like they meant her to. She only hoped that her personal shields would withstand the scrutiny they were under, or she would be dead.

"Tell me Young One, why would you think you will be able to fool Luke Skywalker?" The cloaked figure asked and Alema was compelled to answer truthfully.

"Master Skywalker is very distracted these days, what with the twins coming and all."

The person in front of her was clearly upset by the revelation, simmering anger boiling inside.

"Skywalker is having twins?" Lumiya inquired, clearly not noticing her partner's disturbed state or either disregarding it completely.

"Not just any twins, identical ones." Alema clarified, feeling a push in the Force. "Masters Cilghal and Tionne Solusar are ecstatic at the prospect."

"Explain," Lumiya commanded and then added in a fake sweetly voice, "_please_."

Alema proceeded with the explanation she had heard from Tionne about how rare and special Force-sensitive identical twins were and could feel Lumiya's excitement rising at every word she uttered. Her partner's mood, however, just turned darker and darker. When the Twi'lek finished her account, Lumiya was beside herself.

"Interesting… Very interesting." She declared and Alema could hear the smile in her voice - it sent a shiver down Alema's spine and she winced.

Alema's reaction did not escape the cloaked figure. The dark person - Alema still couldn't tell if it was male or female - turned back to her and, pressing hard on her shields, asked: "Are you sure you are willing to do everything we say?"

"I am!" Alema lied through her teeth.

"You lie!"

Several rays of Force-lightning exited the crooked fingers and threw Alema to the other side of the room. Before she could recover, a Force grip grabbed her by the neck and lifted her almost to the ceiling. The last thought on Alema's mind before her neck was crushed was that she should have never followed Lumiya anywhere.

~.~

Lumiya watched in disbelief as her partner choked the Twi'lek to death. She too had sensed her deception but was willing to let it pass and woo the girl a bit more because it was not easy to find someone so willing to be turned in the Jedi's ranks.

"What was _that_ for?" Lumiya turned to the other woman inquisitively.

"She would betray us to the Jedi."

"Don't give that pack of lies, my dear! You think I didn't notice how your anger flared at the mention of the new Skywalker babies. You had a jealousy fit and my spy paid for it!" Lumiya threw accusingly.

"Don't!"

"What? You can't stand the fact that Skywalker married Mara Jade and that he's happy with her. You're pathetic."

With that, Lumiya left the room, before her partner lost her patience and did the same to her that she had done to the Twi'lek.

-TBC…


	27. Chapter 27

**A/N:** The characters Anak and Mikayla were created by **Jedi Master Misty Sman-Esay,** who has agreed to lend them to me. Thanks, Misty!

* * *

**~ Chapter Twenty-Seven ~**

Tenel Ka was walking down a grassy path that led to the Solo bungalow. She had arrived at the Academy three days prior and was staying with the Solos because neither Leia nor Han would have it any other way. Jacen would have been glad to occupy one of the other empty bungalows around but was completely outweighed by his parents who refused to let the new couple out of their sites - surely a sort of retaliation for having been kept in the dark about the pregnancy for as long as they had.

Even though Tenel Ka's presence at the Academy was no secret to anyone, since she had issued a statement that she would be spending the next six months there in meditation, the true reason for her seclusion was kept in the confidence of only the Masters Council, the Solo and Skywalker families and very few of their closest friends. It had been deemed best to hide her pregnancy from everybody else as a security measure and, because of that, whenever she went outside, she hid her bulging stomach with a light Fallanassi illusion Luke had taught her.

Although the Hapan noble caste, and especially her grandmother, hadn't liked the idea of their Queen Mother spending six whole months with the Jedi, they hadn't openly complained and had no reason to since Tenel Ka had assured them that, should trouble arise, she would be reachable and also had left a Regent to attend to everyday matters in her absence.

The search for that Regent had been a complicated one because it would have to be a woman of royal blood and in whom Tenel Ka could place her trust. After surreptitiously interviewing many candidates, she finally found the right person in her father's cousin, Elora Romara, a Hapan woman about twice Tenel Ka's age, the only child of Ta'a Chume's younger brother that had been raised by her mother away from court. After her husband had died ten years before, she had come to live with them and quickly became a trusted confidante of Tenel Ka's mother.

For all those reasons, and because she had sensed truthfulness and loyalty in the woman's heart, Tenel Ka decided to place her secret and her people in Elora's hands and left for the Academy with a clear conscience.

Now she was returning to her new home, temporary but very dear to her, after having spent the last hour in Cilghal's med office asking and answering all the questions she had suppressed in the past months. When she had first arrived, Master Cilghal had been off world and as soon as she had returned, Jacen had dragged Tenel Ka immediately to see her. Mara had teased them about it, saying that he had learned his overprotectiveness from his uncle.

After Cilghal had run all sorts of tests on her, they had gotten to actually see the baby. That had melted their hearts, their baby girl - their Allana - floating in front of them, small, delicate and perfect. Tenel Ka was always aware of the baby inside of her, but she had never dared to imagine her features, and they were so clear in the three dimensional holo floating in front of them, it had brought tears to their eyes. Jacen, beside her, was overflowing with joy and for a moment she thought he would reach out and try to hold the holo to his chest.

Jacen had stayed behind after the consult, to discuss some other matters with Cilghal, and so Tenel Ka was walking alone, basking in the coolness of the evening air and reaching inside herself to her baby as if holding her and singing her a lullaby. It was then that she saw the two figures in the distance - one very tall and furry and the other short and lithe - and decided to wait for the one who was coming her way.

"Jaina, my friend! Or should I call you sister, now?"

"Tenel Ka! You can call me whatever you want as long as you promise to call more often." Jaina said and hugged her friend warmly. They had not seen each other since Zonama Sekot and found they had actually missed one another. "How are you?"

"I am doing well, a little heavy though." Tenel Ka answered and pointed to her stomach.

"Don't complain, Tenel Ka. Have you seen Aunt Mara?"

"Oh, yes. She _is_ hard to miss."

Jaina snickered at her friend's unusual sense of humor. "How's my niece?" She asked, taking Tenel Ka's arm in her own and leading her back to the bungalow.

"She is wonderful! I have just come from a consult and we got to see what she looks like, Jaina, she is so beautiful." Tenel Ka said, her smile growing wider than Jaina had ever seen it.

"Jacen has been so excited about her lately. Since he told the family about her, he won't talk about anything else. He actually went on a shopping spree with Mom and Aunt Mara."

"I have seen the result of that spree and I thank the Force they could disguise it in the middle of Mara's things. He bought almost as many things for Allana as Mara bought for her two girls."

"And now the Skywalker twins will be labeled the most spoiled babies in the galaxy." Jaina concluded with a laugh and then her mood turned darker. Tenel Ka, of course, noticed the change immediately.

"What is it, Jaina?"

"We lost Alema." Jaina informed her friend, feeling guilty for her laughter.

Tenel Ka didn't say anything but just looked at her in astonishment.

"Alema disappeared over two weeks ago, so Uncle Luke sent me and Lowie to find her." Jaina explained. "We managed to track her down to an old empty building, and when we went inside, we were almost overwhelmed by the dark sense of the place. We found her lightsaber there and the Force told us the rest."

"Sith?" Tenel Ka inquired and a shiver ran down her spine.

"That is what we ascertained."

~.~.~

Luke was completely distraught by the news Lowbacca had brought him. He had sent Alema on a simple mission to track down some stealthy Yuuzhan Vong that had eluded everyone else and the young Twi'lek had run into Sith instead. He was now beating himself up for allowing her to go alone, without backup.

Luke remembered that, in his visions Alema had turned to the Dark Side while under the influence of the Dark Nest and had become Lomi Plo's apprentice. The eventual destruction of the Dark Nest had only fuelled Alema's anger and eventually she had teamed up with Lumiya. But Luke had succeeded in thwarting that fate and was as keen on helping the Twi'lek as he was on helping Jacen.

So just how did Alema come across Sith at _this_ point? Was the Sith whom Alema had encountered, Lumiya? Would she willingly align herself with the Sith or had she fallen into a trap?

_Sith! _

That very word was enough to give him nightmares. He had seen the rise of the Sith in his visions, led by Lumiya and her dark philosophy - she was the cause of the downfall of the Jedi, the puppeteer pulling the strings that would lead Jacen to his fall and bring so much pain to the galaxy and, more personally, to Luke. But Jacen was trekking the right path now, so maybe that part was taken care of. _Maybe. _

Of course, all Luke had done so far was in no way conducive to stopping whatever plans Lumiya had conjured. At least he didn't think so. His visions had told him that Lumiya would seduce Jacen to the Dark Side but they didn't tell him how, or why or even when exactly. Just that, when it all came together, his wife would die. And that was an event that he wouldn't let happen - Luke had already coerced Mara into promising him that she would not be going _hunting_ alone, no matter what.

But what would be Lumiya's next move? If she was unable to get to Jacen, would she go after someone else? Would she still succeed in luring Jacen to her side? What was she doing now? And why did he have the feeling that Lumiya was just the tip of the iceberg? There were too many questions, too many unpredictable variables to counter.

Luke isolated himself from his surroundings and dove into the Force seeking enlightenment and guidance. He sent his questions into the awareness that was the Force and waited. The answer he got back didn't come in the expected form.

"We will come to you in the crack of dawn, Luke. Expect us." A female voice rose from the depths of the force and into his mind.

~.~.~

The B-7 light freighter landed between the _Millennium Falcon_ and _Jade Shadow_ in one smooth maneuver. When its ramp lowered, Luke was there to greet its occupants.

"Mikayla, Anak - welcome to the Jedi Academy, my friends, it has been too long!" He embraced them, first the woman and then the man. They were old friends of his, from the time he had first opened the Yavin Academy and they had visited him a few times over the years, but it had been over a decade since they had last met. Their visit, however, did not surprise him since it had been Mikayla's voice that Luke had heard the night before.

"We heard your calling in the Force, last night. It was strange because we were already on our way here." Anak told him.

Luke nodded and invited them to his home. Mara was still asleep and Ben had already crawled in next to her and fallen asleep himself. They settled in the living-room and Luke served them both cups of hot chocolate.

"I had a vision, almost three weeks ago," Mikayla started, "of the Dark Lady of the Sith killing one of your Jedi."

"Yes, Alema Rar. I've only just been informed of her fate last night."

"I have had many visions concerning Sith, lately." The woman continued in her soft voice. "Those visions have changed recently. Do you know why?"

Knowing immediately what she was talking about, Luke explained to them the events and visions of the previous months. When he finished, both his guests nodded in understanding.

"That is why the visions changed. Because you have succeeded in changing the future." Anak declared. "But, unfortunately, your plans have come in conflict with those of Lumiya and she was forced to change hers accordingly."

"What will she do?" Luke asked, preoccupied.

"That we don't know! I believe you need to wait and see." Mikayla answered.

"Yes!" Her husband agreed. "But I don't think you'll need to wait very long. The past events will, undoubtedly, cause Lumiya to act hastily. You'll just need to keep your eyes opened."

"It is her partners you'll need to be cautious of." Mikayla affirmed. "The one who is closest to her is very dangerous and hides very well - I have only gotten a small glimpse of her and I can't tell you who she is, only that she is of your personal acquaintance and holds for you and yours much anger."

"You say partners - who else do I need to watch out for?"

"The organization known as One Sith. Its range used to be limited to future generations but, because it has already been established and has been kept secret, waiting for the Jedi to grow weaker before making their move, we fear that it will also be forced to move up its agenda - although I cannot be sure of that." Mikayla explained.

"The One Sith, an organization? I always thought the Sith came in twos." Luke replied, feeling confused.

"In the old days, the Sith were an Order just like the Jedi. They were many and served the One that was the actual Order. This model is now making a comeback." She continued. "From what I've gathered from the visions I've had, they are led by a former Jedi Knight turned dark, who was held captive by the Yuuzhan Vong and shaped by them. Through the use of hibernation and healing trances, he will be able to sustain his life for over one hundred years, a shadow from the past reaching for the future and holding it hostage - at least that was what I saw before things started to change. The future is not so clear now."

"And Lumiya is associated with them?"

"We think she used to be, but then chose another path. But because things are so different now, she might return and seek their help. We really don't know." Anak said.

Luke rubbed his eyes, feeling his head pounding behind them. Mikayla, noticing his state, held his hand and rubbed his shoulder in support. "Do not despair, young Luke! The light trusts you and will guide you always. Trust in the light!"

At that moment there was a noise and Mara showed up by the door. She looked at her husband inquisitively but only said "Good morning."

"Mara, good morning!" Luke got up and went to her, placing his arm around her waist. "Come and meet Mikayla and Anak. They're old friends of mine who I have not seen in a long time." Then he turned to his guests and introduced his wife. "My friends, this is my wife, Mara."

Both Mikayla and Anak got up and embraced Mara as best they could, considering the huge stomach. Then Mikayla placed her hand on Mara's stomach and said. "A double blessing, I see. Congratulations to you both."

Mara, feeling as if her babies just had been blessed, smiled and thanked the woman in front of her.

"We must go now, Luke, Mara! We still have a long way ahead." Anak announced.

Luke was sorry to see them leave so soon, but he knew their visit was never long and was thankful to have talked to them. He felt better now - more confident. He accompanied them back to their ship and bid them farewell.

When he returned to his home, Mara was giving Ben his breakfast.

"Strange friends you've got, Skywalker." She stated, smirking.

"They are strange, but they're good friends and have given me valuable insight. Mikayla is the best seer I've ever met." He told her while arranging their own breakfast. "I'm glad they came."

-TBC…


	28. Chapter 28

**~ Chapter Twenty-Eight ~**

Within the next week, Luke called up another meeting of the Masters Council, this time to address the Sith. He explained to his fellow Masters the parts of his visions concerning them, their role in Alema Rar's death and Mikayla's visions and warnings regarding the future and its uncertainty.

After much discussion, they decided that the best course of action was not to seek them out actively, but to discretely search for traces of Sith activity in order to ascertain their whereabouts and actions - _stealth_ would be the key word for the time being. The Jedi would, therefore, be divided into teams of two Knights or a Master and Apprentice and would be assigned sectors to investigate.

After they had settled that issue, the question came up as to what they should do about that lost tribe of Sith, Luke had seen in his visions.

"I think we should let them be, for now." Luke said, seeing all the Masters looking at him in confusion, he explained: "Right now, they're not even capable of space travel and they're not doing any harm."

"But you said that they would put together an armada in record time and hunt you." Kyle Katarn pointed out.

"From what I learned, they only became capable of space travel after they were visited by a sentient vessel - a Sith Meditation Sphere - and that doesn't happen for many years."

"Maybe we should intercept that Sphere before it reaches them," Mara pondered, "and monitor them from afar without making our presence known."

"That could work!" Cilghal agreed. "If we use the technique of making ourselves small in the Force - the one Jacen learned from Vergere - we could go there undetected, get a sense on the whole tribe, place some sensors around the system and leave without being noticed."

"Wait a minute," Kyp interrupted, "what exactly is a Sith Meditation Sphere?"

"It is a sort of warship used by Sith Lords for battle meditation. It is meant to amplify their commands and send them over great distances allowing them full control of their armies. But they haven't been seen in thousands of years." Tionne explained and because now everyone else was staring at her she continued. "I learned about them from one of those holocrons containing journals from the time of the Great Hyperspace War."

"It would be kind of the ancestor of the meditation chambers Palpatine and Vader had set up on their flag ships." Mara added, remembering how many tines she had reported to Palpatine in that chamber.

"And they were sentient?" Kyp insisted.

"Not as far as I know." Tionne answered him.

"This one is," Luke stepped in, "at least it has some sort of consciousness."

"Like a droid?" Kyp persisted. There was something about the idea of a sentient warship that made his skin crawl. "Or like someone's consciousness was trapped inside?"

The look Kyp got from most of the Masters around the table held no question that they had all reached the same memory, that of the last warship with a consciousness they had heard of.

"I don't think that's the case, Kyp!" Luke replied, piercing the younger man with his eyes. "But we'll find out when we find the Sphere."

"Do you know where we can find it and how to get a hold of it, Master Skywalker?"

Luke pause for a moment, accessing the memory from his visions and then answered: "In my visions, the Sphere was retrieved by a Knight, ten years from now, in a planet called Ziost, but I don't know how he did it." Luke didn't think it necessary to tell them that the Knight in question was his son Ben and that he had retrieved the vessel to deliver it to Jacen, who was already walking the dark path.

"That planet is not far from here!" Tionne remarked, pointing at the astral chart that was projected over the middle of the table. "It's just a few hours away." It never ceased to wonder her how things that seemed to far away could actually be so close.

"Who should we send?" Kam asked.

"This one suggestz the Solos! Jaina Solo, in particular, had much experience with flying a living vessel during the war and Jacen and Leia Solo can talk anyone into anything." Saba affirmed. Of course, she didn't need to say that this way, she would get to go too, since the Barabel was now officially Leia's Master.

Luke and the others nodded at that suggestion and it was agreed that that afternoon they would convene all the Jedi and give them their assignments.

~.~.~

At the same time as the Jedi were receiving their assignments on Ossus, a dark cloaked woman was approaching a ruined temple located on the southern end of the smallest continent of the planet Ziost.

She had found out about them during the time she'd spent at the Yavin Jedi Academy so many years before - back when she still believed she could control the darkness inside of her and rebuild her life - and more recently she had discovered that there was still one left. How convenient that she would find this ancient artifact at this point, since it would be of extreme use when she finally decided to take that trip to the Maw to investigate that legend Vergere had told her about - that of the Dark Demon that was trapped there.

She entered the temple through the main entrance and stretched out to flood the ruined building with her dark sense. Soon enough she felt something awake inside and commanded it to come forth.

A few minutes later, a round rusty red-orange metal vessel appeared before her. It basically looked like a giant eyeball with wings stretched to both sides, it communicated with her through the Force and immediately recognized her as its new Master.

Callista ordered the Sphere to follow her outside, then proceeded to the ship she had come down in and recovered some personal belongings and a portable comm station blinking its red light. She then entered the sphere and flew away.

~.~.~

By the afternoon of the next day, the Academy was practically empty again. All that remained were the students who had not been paired up with Masters, the Solusars - who would continue teaching the kids, Cilghal - who refused to leave her two pregnant patients - and her youngest apprentice, a Bothan named Nyia, the two pregnant patients, Luke - who stayed behind both to stay close to Mara and to coordinate the teams - and four other Knights, tasked with protecting the Academy.

When Saba and the Solos entered the _Millennium Falcon_ and took off for their mission, they were completely unaware that their goal had evaded them by merely one day.

~.~.~

On the metal asteroid known as The Home, Lumiya was wondering what had happened to her partner.

Callista had left two weeks earlier, not even bothering with informing Lumiya on where she was going nor what was she going to do. She was really becoming a nuisance and Lumiya was cursing the day Vergere had introduced them.

She knew very little about the other woman, except that her original body had perished shortly after the rise of the Emperor and that her essence had been maintained inside a computer until meeting Luke Skywalker. Then she had arranged for a new body and had had an affair with him, but had subsequently left him.

Lumiya had been impressed about that body trading ability, but soon realized that had ultimately doomed Callista - transferring one's consciousness to another body was a treacherous ability that required a great deal of dark power and that was why it had only been attempted by Palpatine himself, and even he had had the sense of using several clones of himself for it, not someone else's body. It was no wonder that body was rotting away like that.

Callista had been talking about her planned trip to the Maw since the war had ended and would have gone already if it hadn't been for the fact that Lumiya's plan involving the killiks hadn't fallen through so fast and they had to improvise a new one.

But now Callista had disappeared and Lumiya was starting to think she had gone anyway, disregarding the fact that, after killing the Twi'lek Jedi, she had assured Lumiya that she would have eyes inside the Jedi Academy even if Callista herself had to be those eyes. Lumiya wouldn't put it past her partner to show up at the Academy, with an illusion carefully in place to hide her true appearance, and try to seduce Skywalker right under Mara Jade's nose. Not shat she'd believe Skywalker would fall for it, but Callista could certainly try. She only had to be reminded of her promise to Lumiya and of their ultimate goal to bring about the ultimate downfall of the Jedi and Skywalker.

Lumiya made her way to the Home's main comm station and tried to raise her partner again.

~.~

"What do you want?" Callista spit out when she answered the comm. The bipping was distracting and confused her newly made bond with the Sphere.

"To remind you we have unfinished business!" Lumiya's voice shouted out through the speaker.

"I know! I haven't forgotten about it."

"Where are you? Are you already at the Academy?"

"No! I had something else to tend to first - something that couldn't wait. I'll make my way to the Academy shortly." Callista stated, but didn't go into details. She didn't want Lumiya finding out about the Sphere, at least not yet.

-TBC…


	29. Chapter 29

**~ Chapter Twenty-Nine ~**

The last couple of weeks had been frustrating for Grand Master Luke Skywalker. Almost all the Jedi teams he had dispatched to look for signs of Sith activity had come back with nothing to report.

The wave of bad news - or _no news_, to be exact - had started when the _Millennium Falcon_ had come back empty handed. They had searched the planet Ziost thoroughly - the north, the south, east and west, the equatorial regions, even the oceans - for almost a month, using the Falcon's sensors and the Force and found nothing remotely similar to a giant and rusty sphere. It was just not there!

After that, the other teams started checking in and also relaying no news. They continued their search, but save of a handful of events that could be attributed to one or two individuals, they had found nothing. And certainly nothing even close to a whole organization of Siths.

"If they are indeed out there, they must be hibernating." Mara remarked, trying to put an optimistic tone in her words but utterly failing. She was now incredibly pregnant and having to rely on the Force to help her get up from a chair.

Luke was giving her a foot rub, an activity they both enjoyed very much, but this evening his heart just wasn't on it. He had been feeling edgy over the past weeks, like his danger sense was flaring only without an apparent cause, so he just assumed something big was going to happen soon. It didn't help that Cilghal had estimated Mara's due date to be in one month and that made him even more nervous - Luke was now having flashbacks to just before Ben's birth, when he had been so close to losing Mara, it still pained him.

Mara wasn't doing much better herself. She was also feeling edgy and the uncomfortableness of being that pregnant was gnawing on her.

"Hey, Farmboy, come here!" She directed her husband to sit next to her. Luke let go of her foot and took the seat by her side, placing his arm around her shoulders. "Let's take this one step at a time. The teams have come up almost empty but they're still out there looking, right?"

Luke nodded in agreement.

"You have Artoo and Threepio going through the Holonet, looking for reports of anything unusual."

Luke nodded again an affirmative.

"Mikayla and Anak said that Lumiya would make her move soon. When she does, we'll be ready and then we'll make her tell us about the One Sith. We are going to be ready, Luke."

Luke's smile opened a bit and he kissed her cheek and temple.

"What would I do without you Mara?"

"Beats me!" She said and returned his kisses.

~.~.~

Callista had arrived on Ossus over two weeks ago, but had decided to hide the Sphere far away from the Academy and make her way there by other means. She had originally planned to disguise herself as an old Force-sensitive that had come to learn the ways of the Force but had soon set aside that plan because she knew she would never be able to create an illusion powerful enough to hide her appearance and her dark sense from all the Jedi around. Not that she could feel many Jedi around - she should be able to sense them - but Luke was there and she knew she wouldn't be able to fool him.

The trip to the Academy had ended up taking longer than Callista had anticipated and she almost lost her temper many times during it. The only thing that had kept her from zapping some of the most annoying beings she had ever come across was that she feared that action would alert Luke on her presence and she wanted to be able to stay hidden for as long as she could.

As Callista approached the Academy grounds she made sure she kept her dark presence in the Force completely concealed as well as her physical appearance. In fact, she was able to roam the nearby city entirely without being spotted by any living being.

~.~

Mara was overseeing the younglings' first class of the day, that day. It was something she had grown to enjoy over the past months, mainly because it gave her the opportunity to watch Ben's development in the ways of the Force.

The other Masters teased her about it - the ever impatient Mara Jade watching little children - but the truth was motherhood had made her previously short patience reserves grow exponentially, undoubtedly a sub-product of the hormonal changes, and now she found this task a very rewarding one.

By her side was Evlyn, now almost considered ready for being paired with a Master, she had already asked Mara to become hers. Mara had warned the girl that being her apprentice would entail dipper duty for several months, but Evlyn told her she didn't mind if it meant she could learn from her.

The children in front of them were playing a game that consisted in covering one's eyes and having another tap the first one's shoulder. That child would then have to guess each of the others had been the one that had touched him or her. All the other children would have to be very quiet about it and not give away the name.

But this particular morning, Mara could barely pay attention to the children in front of her. Her danger sense was flaring and she kept looking around for something out of place, but continuously finding nothing.

~.~

Callista watched the children at their game, hidden behind the trees and hiding in the Force. She also watched Mara, almost in front of her, and could feel edginess in her Force-sense.

The sight of the redhead and her bulging stomach, the presence of the two little babies inside and even that little red-haired boy sitting in the middle of the other kids - all those factors were infuriating her. That woman had taken all that was supposed to belong to Callista - the husband, the children, the life she had dreamed her. Never mind that Callista had walked away from that dream and never mind that she would never have been able to have those children or live out that dream in this body - that woman was still going to pay for the affront, and so would Luke for having accepted her.

Callista stretched out with her dark rage, reached for the lifeline that fed those babies and pinched them hard.

~.~

Mara immediately felt the babies inside her grasping to breathe. She reached to them and attempted to sooth them but they wouldn't settle down. She ordered Evlyn to call Cilghal right away and then reached for the babies one more time and, using their own strong Force gifts, she placed them in hibernation trances.

~.~

Callista immediately figured out what Mara was doing, but she still didn't give up. Hiding herself even more, she reached for the sack holding the babies and pulled hard.

~.~

Suddenly, Mara fell to her knees, the pain ripping inside her, coursing through her body and spilling into the bond with her husband and her son. Ben was immediately by her side, crying and she could feel Luke coming to her too. She saw the blood soaking her long tunic and boots.

"Oh, no!" Were her last words before blacking out.

Luke was in the middle of a comm call when he felt the pain coursing through his bond with Mara. Instantly he ran out the door, not even bothering with terminating the connection first. He ran as fast as the Force would let him, actually passing Cilghal's speeder that was being driven by Jacen.

He got to his wife just in time to watch her pass out in a pool of her own blood.

They had been there for a little over half an hour, waiting outside Cilghal's med ward, but it felt to Luke like it was a lot longer. Leia had taken Ben outside to catch some air because the boy wouldn't stop sobbing and Jaina had brought him a clean set of clothes because his were drenched in Mara's blood. He kept trying to repress the tears gathering around his eyes but with no avail.

Around him was the rest of his family and Evlyn, all waiting for news. But there was no news coming out of the operating room and Luke wouldn't reach out with the Force towards the inside of the room fearing what he would, or wouldn't, find.

When Cilghal finally came out, Luke was afraid to look at her and find he eyes. She came to him and placed a hand in his shoulder to call upon his attention.

"Luke, it's alright. They're ok!"

Luke let out a very loud breath and felt his knees almost collapse under him.

"Come with me." She told him and signaled the others to wait.

Before entering the room, Cilghal explained what had been going on inside.

"When Mara felt the babies in distress, she put them in hibernation trances to preserve them from the lack of oxygen. Then she put herself in one just before you got there. Because we had to move quickly due to the blood loss we proceeded with the extraction of the babies with her still in trance - it was faster that way. After the babies were out, all I had to do was stop the bleeding."

"And you did?"

"Yes, it took longer because I had to scrape her uterus for remains of the placenta and so it will heal properly and not scar."

"But all that blood?"

"It was a lot of blood, but it was mostly blood Mara needed to maintain a twin pregnancy - she doesn't need it anymore. Nyia is now applying the bacta patches to the cut we made and then you can wake her up yourself."

"And the babies?"

"Jacen was clearing their lungs from fluids when I left. He should be waking them up now."

"So they're alright?" Luke couldn't believe it, fear still creeping up on the edges of conscious mind.

"Yes, come in and see for yourself."

They finally entered the operating room and the first thing Luke saw was Jacen leaning over the twins, preparing to bring them out of their trances. When he saw his uncle approaching, Jacen made for him and asked him if Luke would like to do it himself.

Luke leaned over them and placed his hands on their chests. The reached out for their Force-senses and gently brought them to consciousness. The two girls opened their eyes almost simultaneously and began their newborn wails.

"I'd say their lungs are clear." Jacen stated, trying to lighten Luke's mood.

Luke gave him a faint smile, now feeling a mix of fear and joy inside. It would take him along time to get over this fright.

Cilghal instructed Jacen to dress the babies and to not forget the diapers, and then to wrap them in individual blankets. In the meantime, she directed Luke to the opposite side of the room where Mara was lying in a med-table, her tunic ripped and soaked in blood. At the sight of his wife like that, Luke's heart tightened again inside his chest.

Cilghal's Bothan apprentice made way for them when they came closer and the Healer instructed her to fetch Mara a med-gown and then left Luke alone with his wife, signaling it was ok to wake her.

Luke leaned over her, catching her hand in his - it was so cold - and kissed her beautiful face - so pail - then he whispered in her ear the phrase she had chosen ten years ago.

"I love you, Mara."

Mara slowly opened her eyes and answered him: "Hi."

Luke kissed her deeply and felt relief washing over him. Mara responded to his kiss until she remembered why they were there now and stretched her arm to her not so swollen stomach. The look on her face asked the question for her.

"They're ok!" Luke assured her. "Jacen is dressing them now."

From the other side of the room, they heard Jacen shout: "I'll be right there."

"And Ben?" She asked next, remembering the boy crying over her.

As an answer to her question, the door on the other side swung open and Ben ran inside calling out to her, closely followed by Leia. Luke picked him up from the ground and placed him on the edge of the table where his Mommy's awaiting arms held him tightly.

"It's ok, sweety! Mommy's ok." Mara whispered in the boy's ear.

Leia, on the other side of Luke, watched the scene with her arm around her brother and tears running down her face.

Just a few moments after that, Cilghal interrupted them and asked Luke and Leia to help Mara change into the med-gown Nyia had brought for her, so that they could welcome the new members of the family. After that was done, and Mara had settled more comfortably on another clean cot, Jacen and Nyia brought the two babies to them.

With Ben sitting on one edge of the cot, Luke settled on the other holding one baby, leaving Mara squeezed between them holding another and Leia standing in front of them watching the scene.

"So, what are we calling my nieces?" She asked, expectantly. "Have you chosen their names yet?" The subject of the babies' names had been thoroughly discussed by the Skywalker couple since they had learned they were having twin girls.

Mara and Luke exchanged glances and then Mara answered.

"Auntie Leia, Big Brother Ben, meet Serena and Samira Skywalker."

After they were introduced to him, Ben kissed both babies foreheads very gently earning a big smile from those around and a big kiss from Mommy.

-TBC…


	30. Chapter 30

**~ Chapter Thirty ~**

Luke was returning to the med ward, to the room Cilghal had assigned to Mara, after a very long discussion via Holonet with Chief Omas. Luke had had to call Chief Omas to apologize for disappearing in the middle of their conversation that same morning and the talk had dragged a bit.

Inside the room was his whole family, all squeezed within the space of three square meters. Mara was lying on the bed, in a light healing trance, Ben was curled up under her left arm, taking his afternoon nap, and the twins were sharing an incubation pod, also in light healing traces to help them get over the lingering effects of their premature birth, within the reach of Mara's right arm.

His beautiful family! The sight of them there brought back the memory of the morning's events and a pang to Luke's heart - how he had come so close to losing them - he was still unable to feel the true joy from the birth of his daughters.

Luke sat down on the chair by the bed, took Mara's hand is his and kissed it. Then he turned to look at the babies in the pod, committing their tiny features to memory. They looked so much like Ben when he was born, but without that wrinkled look common to newborns that were delivered the usual way. They had very little hair but it was clearly blond and their eyes were that grayish undetermined color newborn babies usually had, but somehow Luke just knew that they would have their mother's eyes. And they were tiny - tiny and perfect, Cilghal had assured them - and very healthy.

Luke was so deep in contemplation he didn't even notice when Cilghal entered the room.

"They're fine, Luke." She declared, sensing his lingering fears.

"I know. But seeing Mara in a healing trance after giving birth, again…"

"Actually, I usually prescribe healing trances to all my Force-sensitive patients after giving birth. Their bodies recover so much faster this way - they can make a full recovery within a few days instead of the month it takes for non-sensitives."

Luke offered her a thankful smile in return, but added: "Still, why does the birth of our children always entail a fight for Mara's life? I know there's an easier way to do this - couples do it all the time."

"Luke, this was not your fault! You both did everything right." The Healer assured him.

That was the moment Ben chose to wake up and, understanding his Daddy and the Healer were talking about Mommy's hurting, he said with tears already starting to fill his big blue eyes.

"The Mean Lady hurt Mommy!"

Luke rushed to collect his three year-old son and take him away from Mara, so she wouldn't wake up. He cleaned the tears from Ben's face and asked him, very gently, what he was talking about.

"It was the Mean Lady," Ben repeated, "she was hiding in the trees, but I saw her. She was mad at Mommy."

Luke still didn't understand what Ben was talking about. There hadn't been anyone else there, besides Mara, except for Evlyn and the other children, but Cilghal nodded and said: "This is congruent with what I was going to show you."  
"Tell us about the lady, Ben!" She asked very gently as to not scare the boy. "What did she look like?"

"Dark and bad." Ben answered and hid his face on Luke's shoulder.

"Ben -" Luke caressed his son's head and got him to raise it again "- did you see her face?"

Ben shook his head in a negative.

"What about her clothes, Ben, did you see them?" Cilghal asked him.

"She had a big coat, like Daddy's, but black." Ben said, pointing to Luke's cloak.

"Can you tell us anything else about the Mean Lady, Ben?" Luke then asked. When the boy shook his head again, he kissed him and said: "Thank you for telling us, Ben! Want to go back to Mommy now?" When Ben nodded, Luke placed him back on the bed and the boy snuggled again under Mara's arm and then left the room again, following Cilghal.

Cilghal led Luke to her lab where she showed him Mara's placenta and the umbilical cords. She began explaining to Luke that the reason for the massive bleeding was an almost complete rupture of the placenta from her uterus. She then clarified that Mara had asked Evlyn to call Cilghal before that happened.

"Mara knew it was going to happen? And does this have to do with Ben's Mean Lady?"

"No, Mara had Evlyn call me as soon as she felt the babies' distress - I think I told you that this morning." At Luke's nod, she continued." After that she had the placental rupture. Here, look at this!"

Cilghal laid out the two umbilical cords. "See here and here - these are bruises, like someone squeezed them hard."

That thought made Luke's skin crawl. He had just made the connection between the morning's events and the Mean Lady. "Like a Force-pinch."

"Yes! That would be correct. And when it didn't work, the person took up more drastic measures and made Mara's placenta rupture."

"This lady would have to be cloaking her presence in the Force to avoid detection, but Ben saw her anyway."

"Sometimes children see further than adults." Cilghal stated.

Then Luke remembered Mikayla's visions of Lumiya's partner and how she held a very strong grudge against him and his family. "Cilghal, call up everyone who is in the Academy - we have a Sith loose and we need to find her."

~.~

It didn't take long to gather all the Jedi in the Academy since most were still away. Luke and Cilghal quickly explained the whole situation to them and decided to split their number in half. One half would go out and find that Sith while the other staid behind and secured the Academy's grounds. They were all warned that the Sith would be cloaking her presence in the Force and were given a crash course in how to counteract that technique.

Luke was preparing to lead with the away teams when two other Jedi approached him. The first was Jacen and the other was Raynar Thul.

"Uncle Luke, you should stay here." Jacen told him.

"And why is that, Jacen?" The Jedi Master questioned in an icy voice.

To Jacen's credit, he did not wince. "This is personal to you. You should therefore take the defensive position, not the offensive one."

"Jacen is right, Luke!" Both Leia and Cilghal had come closer and agreed with Jacen's stand.

"And I would personally feel much better knowing you'll stay here - because of Tenel Ka." Jacen's tone suddenly changed to a pleading one and Luke could see he was worried about his love and their daughter. Tenel Ka had already moved to a room next to Mara's and the other children and families had been assigned places inside the main building, where they'd be safer. Jacen, on the other hand, was going with the away teams.

Acknowledging his plea and the fact that he was right, Luke agreed to stay. Sensing Raynar also had something to say, the Jedi Master turned to him.

"Master Skywalker, there is something you need to know."

Raynar's health had been improving steadily since his return from the Colony and was now becoming more active within the Academy, taking some classes and helping Tionne and Kam with the younger students. The only thing that seemed to not be getting better were his memories of the time he had spent as a joiner, he usually had flashes of them but nothing more.

"When you were talking about the Sith, your words triggered a sudden memory of something." Raynar paused for a moment, trying to collect that memory correctly. "There were two beings, not joiners, that used to visit the Colony."

"Please continue, Raynar, if you felt you had to come forth with this now, then its important." Cilghal encouraged her young patient.

"I think this Sith was one of them - don't ask me why, but the moment Master Skywalker spoke of her, I got that feeling."

"The feeling you got would be a message from the Force, Raynar - please go on!" Luke affirmed.

"They didn't visit me but I saw them through the Colony's eyes. This one was always wearing a dark cloak and hood covering her but I could tell she was awfully disfigured and very strong in the Force, but she wasn't the one who visited more often. The other one was."

"What do you remember about the other one?" Luke asked, looking for confirmation on his suspicions. Once again these events were intertwining with Mikayla's visions and forming a very large and coherent puzzle.

"I remember she had several cybernetic implants."

"Lumiya!" Leia blurted out in astonishment and Luke nodded.

This was why Mikayla said Lumiya's plans had changed, he remembered. Luke had forgotten to ask her about the relation between the killiks and Lumiya but it seemed the Force had shown him the connection anyway. The Swarm War had been Lumiya's plan to keep the Jedi distracted while she gathered more power. But because the Jedi had thwarted her plans, she was forced to change them. And now her partner had come to the Academy and attacked Mara.

Going over this information in his head, Luke released the Jedi to their assignments and returned to Mara to tell her all he had learned.

~.~.~

Luke found Mara standing over a counter by the wall on the opposite side of her med-bed. She had just finished the preparation of one bottle. She smiled at him when he entered the room.

"It's Serena's turn with the bottle."

They had decided, advised by Cilghal and Leia, to keep switching the babies' feeding routines, because both babies - being very connected twins - would be crying for food at the same time and this way would be more comfortable for Mara. So while Mara was breastfeeding one, someone else could feed the other with the bottle, and when the next feeding time came, they would switch.

Luke came up to his wife, took the bottle from her hand placing it on the counter and hugged her tightly. Mara felt him taking several deep breaths while basking in her scent and her life-force.

"Have you caught your breath yet, Farmboy?"

"I'm working on it right now." He said, trailing kisses all over her face and ending the trail on her lips.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and deepened the kiss, melting away the last traces of fear from that morning.

A few moments later, the twins began their clamoring for food and demanded their parents' attention. While Luke picked up Serena from the incubating pod, Mara retrieved Samira and they began feeding them.

"Where's Ben?" Luke asked, noticing their son was not in the room.

"Tenel Ka took him to the cafeteria for a snack." Mara informed him. After a few minutes, she asked: "So what was all that about outside?"

Luke smirked while placing Serena on his shoulder to make her burp. No, nothing would ever divert Mara's attention from the events around her. He then proceeded to explain everything he had learned concerning the attack on her and the Sith connection. Mara absorbed all the information, nodding her agreement with his conclusions. They discussed the matter until they were interrupted by rushed footsteps on the hallway and a strong sense of urgency.

Suddenly the door swung open and Tenel Ka entered the room. She took a look around and before they could say anything, she asked: "Ben isn't here? I can't find him."

Both parents jumped out of the bed at the same time, their hearts caught in their throats.

-TBC…


	31. Chapter 31

**~ Chapter Thirty-One ~**

The moment Callista had seen Luke and the others reaching Mara and taking her back to the main building, she had realized her efforts had been unfruitful. She also realized they would soon figure out what had happened and come looking for her. That meant she needed to abandon her position and retreat. It was at that moment, that something else caught her eye.

There couldn't be more than a dozen adult Jedi in the vicinity - the Academy was really practically empty. And more, one of them - whom she recognized had Queen Mother Tenel Ka - was also very pregnant and coming out of the Solo bungalow. Callista knew that was the Solo's home because she had witnessed the family leaving it earlier in the morning.

_'How very interesting.'_ She thought. If her assumptions were correct, Lumiya would be very interested to know about this.

Once she found herself completely alone and at a safe distance from the Academy, Callista contacted Lumiya and filled her in on all the details.

~.~

Lumiya was thrilled when she heard from Callista. Finally, that body snatching _bicce_ was contributing to Lumiya's efforts.

So, the Academy was practically empty, the Skywalker twins had already been born and their mother was still recovering and the Hapan Queen Mother was there and pregnant with Jacen Solo's child. Things couldn't have turned out any better if they had been planed that way. The Dark Lady's mind was sizzling with a new formed plan while she entered her ship and plotted a course for Korriban.

~.~.~

Callista watched the away teams leave the Academy to search for her and smirked - now the Jedi stationed at the Academy were even less. She concentrated harder in hiding herself and waited very still in her chosen place.

About fifteen minutes later she saw a little red-haired boy exiting the building through the main door - he was alone and looking around for something. From her hiding place, she could see a little toy X-wing left forgotten in the middle of the grass and she made if fly towards the little boy. Callista knew this was probably a bad idea and that she would most likely be revealing herself by doing it, but, somehow, she really didn't care.

Callista waited in her hiding place while the boy followed the X-wing and neared her position. When he was close enough, she stepped in front of him.

"Hello, _Little One_!"

Ben froze in place, looking up at her. He immediately recognized the woman has the one who had hurt his Mommy that morning and he accused her with the earnestness proper to his age.

"You hurt my Mommy!" He shouted and the toy X-wing hit her as if it had been thrown and then fell to the ground.

"Yes, I did." She blatantly admitted. "And do you think I should do to you, Little Skywalker?"

Before the little boy could start to cry, Callista reached for him and knocked him unconscious.

~.~.~

Inside the Academy's main building, the Skywalkers were frantically searching for Ben. They had taken Tenel Ka and the twins to the larger room where all the other children had gathered with Kam and Tionne and had begun their search there. They had already commed the other Jedi in the Academy and told them to look for the boy but until now no one had found any trace of him.

"Do you think he's hiding in the Force?" Mara asked her husband, her Force-sense flooded with a panicky nervousness. She hadn't felt that way since the day Coruscant had fallen to the Vong and they had lost track of Ben.

"No, I can still feel him, but faintly. Can't you?" Luke made his wife pause. "Mara, calm down!" He grabbed her by both arms and made her look at him. "Take a deep breath and calm down! Can you feel him?"

Mara's first impulse was to throw him one of her trademark retorts, but there was really no time for that, so she forced herself to inhale and exhale and feel the presence of her son in the Force. Once she did what she was told, Ben's presence felt like a beacon to her.

"You go this way and I'll go that way!" Luke instructed her and they parted.

~.~

Luke exited the building through the same door Ben had used. He called the Jedi sentinels to back him up at a distance and followed Ben's presence through the Force. It didn't take him long to locate his son and the dark cloaked figure that was holding him.

As he approached them, the woman's dark Force presence became apparent. It was strange and at the same time vaguely familiar. It felt like revisiting a once familiar place and find it completely changed and foreign.

"Hello, Luke!" The woman greeted him in a cracked voice. "Don't you recognize me?"

Luke hesitated and the woman removed the hood from her head. Her face was only slightly wrinkled even though if looked old. Her skin was a grayish and sickly yellow and her features sagged on one side. Her eyes were the color of liquid metal with dark baggy circles under them and her head was practically bald with a few strands of light brown and gray hair hanging down.

"The Force doesn't favor someone who would take someone else's body." She remarked in a forced casual tone.

"Callista?"

Luke might have been the one who was stunned by the revelation but it was Callista who fell to the ground stunned out of her senses. Luke only had time to snatch Ben away from her before she fell, revealing Mara standing behind her, holding a blaster and wearing one of those ysalamiri nutrient frames on her back - both to cover her presence in the Force and to neutralize the other woman's danger sense.

Mara ran to Luke and took their son from his arms and held him tightly.

"Ben! Ben, wake up sweetie." She tapped his face lightly and kissed him multiple times. "Luke, call Cilghal!"

"It's ok, Mara, I'm right here!" The Healer said and took the boy into her arms for a quick examination.

In the meantime, Luke was still staring at the fallen Callista. He was brought back to reality by his wife tugging at him.

"Luke, did I hear you right? Is that-" She asked, demanding his attention.

"Yes! That's her." He affirmed, then composing himself, he told ordered the Jedi sentinels to take Callista to a holding cell and fill her surroundings with ysalamiri. Then he turned back to Cilghal who was guiding Ben back to consciousness. Soon enough, the boy was whimpering in his Mommy's arms.

"He'll be ok." The Healer assured them. "He's just scared. Mara, may I suggest you take Ben inside and get back to your twins. They'll be waking up soon."

Mara nodded and excused herself, taking Ben with her. Looking at her go, Luke allowed himself a very deep breath. "What a day!"

~.~

Far away from the Academy, the Sith Meditation Sphere, after having the connection to its Master severed, rose from its place of concealment and flew towards its Master's last known position.

~.~.~

Luke watched Callista's benumbed body laid on a cot in the holding cell, wondering what in the galaxy had happened to her. She had always been a kind and compassionate person - at least she was when they were together. But now she was all… Luke couldn't feel her presence now, in the middle of the ysalamiri bubble but outside he had gotten a very clear sense of her and there wasn't a shred of light there.

He remembered their time together, how happy he wanted her to be and how miserable she had been when she found out she could no longer reach for the Force like she used to, but instead could only touch the Dark Side - it had ultimately caused her to leave him - and she had vowed that she would never touch the Force again if it meant surrendering to the Darkness.

So what had made her give in? Had she already fallen into Abeloth's grasp and this was the result or had she given up on negating the lure of the Dark Side and surrendered to it on her own.

What about her physical appearance? Was it really the result of living in a body that wasn't her own? That was what Callista had implied outside, just before Mara had stunned her. Luke remembered a fight he had had with Mara, right after Callista had left him, where she had let it slip that what Callista had done was a perversion of the Force and that it was no wonder that she could only touch the Dark Side - he had been so mad he hadn't spoken to her for almost a year after that. What if Mara was right and Callista had sealed her fate when she had chosen to live a second life in Cray Mingla's body? Was this all his fault?

"This is not your fault." He heard Mara say behind him. He turned to face her wondering how, even without the Force, she always knew what he was thinking.

"It's written all over your face, Farmboy. You're the most expressive person I've ever met." She said and handed him a cup of caf. "I know you'd rather have hot chocolate, but trust me, you need caf right now."

Luke took a sip of the beverage and frowned at its bitterness.

"The away teams are coming back but Jacen commed in and said he and Jaina were investigating something - I couldn't understand what, the connection was terrible."

Luke assented and asked about their son.

"How's Ben?"

"He's calmer, now. Tionne started leading the children in songs, so I left him there with them. And the girls already ate and are back asleep."

"You should be resting, too." He pointed out to his wife and brought her closer to him by putting an arm around her waist "You gave birth this morning."

"I'm alright! I don't think you should do this alone." Mara added, pointing to Callista.

"I don't think you two should meet." Luke stated, worried about what might come out of this.

"What are you afraid of? I didn't kill her outside, I'm not gonna do it now - even with all she's done today - and she can't hurt me again."

"But, Mara, I think I'll have a better chance of getting her to talk if I'm alone." Luke pointed out.

Mara pondered on what he said and then answered: "I'm not leaving! I'll just stand over there, by the door, where she won't see me."

"Fine." He finally agreed and finished his cup of caf.

"Hush, now! Our guest is waking up." Mara told him.

Just as the words were out of Mara's mouth, Callista started to stir and Mara took her place in the shadowed corner by the door. Luke had to admit to himself that he did feel better just knowing that Mara was there, even if he couldn't see her.

After a few minutes, Callista sat up on the cot and faced her host.

"Well, well, well! Aren't you a sight for sore eyes?" She hissed in a very sarcastic tone and between crackled breaths. "How's the wife and kids?"

"They're very well, no thanks to you, Callista. What happened to you?"

"If you think that you'll lure me into revealing my inner most feelings and pains and traumas to you, just so you can analyze me and try to help me, Luke, you can give it another thought. I cannot be saved by Luke Skywalker!" She spit out bitterly.

"What happened? You are not the person I knew and loved."

"If you loved me, how could you marry _her_?"

"There are many kinds of love, Callista. Mara has always been my destiny, but I did love you." Luke asserted. His voice was calm and emotionless. Whatever feelings he had had for Callista were gone now - he couldn't even hate her for what she had done that day. "It took me a long time to heal after you left."

"You love her more." Her tone was accusatory.

If the situation had been different, if Callista still deserved his respect, then Luke would have tried to smooth out his confirmation, but now he saw no point to it.

"Yes, I do love her more. Mara is my soul mate - we were destined to be together by the very threads of existence. Even if you had stayed with me, I would have eventually realized that fact. All these years, I hoped that the reason I never heard from you again was that you had found a home in some corner of the galaxy and were happy. That thought - of you being happy - always made me feel good. I'm sorry to see you did not feel the same about me."

"I should have joined the Force when the Eye of Palpatine was destroyed, I don't belong here and have doomed myself." Callista admitted. She stared at him and seemed so tired and was struggling to breathe, Luke almost felt sorry for her. Undoubtedly the effects of the ysalamiri Force repelling bubble were taking a toll on the woman before him.

"Why are you here? Did you come just to harm my family?"

"I came here to destroy you all! To tear your heart right out of your chest and ravish your dream." She stated.

"With Lumiya?"

Callista had not seen that one coming and flinched at Luke's mention of her partner. Luke noted her reaction and pushed for an answer.

"Where's Lumiya, Callista?"

"You'll find out soon enough, Jedi Master!"

"What do you know about the One Sith?"

This time, Callista just leaned back and smirked. Luke knew, without a doubt, that there was trouble on the way and that Callista would not say another word to him. He was wrong on that last consideration.

"Keeping me here won't keep your family safe, Luke. Lumiya is very interested in your twins' welfare and future."

Luke felt a whole new wave of fear and nausea wash over him and he had to keep Mara from storming out on the other woman.

~.~

Once they were back in the darkened hallway, Luke just held Mara tightly, both to feel her presence and to keep her from going back in and give Callista a very big piece of her mind. He could tell Mara was a bit weaker now and in more pain, because of the time she had spent inside the ysalamiri bubble, and he gave her some of his Force-energy to sooth her.

Luke led his wife back to her room in the med ward, where and asked her to go back to her healing trance. If Lumiya was really coming, then they would have to be ready for her.

-TBC…


	32. Chapter 32

**~ Chapter Thirty-Two ~**

Just after sunset, there was another commotion in the Academy - the Solo twins had arrived accompanied by Jag and what appeared to be a very large eyeball with spikes and wings caught in a tractor beam.

"What's that?" Evlyn asked when she saw them coming.

"Good news - finally!" Luke let out.

Soon enough, the newcomers were surrounded by most of the adults in the Academy and practically all of the children.

Strangely, the first thing Han noticed about the arriving party was Jag, and not the Sphere. He looked at the young Colonel, measuring him from top to bottom before asking him what he was doing here.

"Jag came to help, Dad." Jaina answered, frowning. "And he helped a lot!"

"What happened? Where did you find that thing?" Luke asked the youths.

"We had already spotted it when Aunt Mara called us back - the Sith must have brought it here with her. That's why we didn't come back right away. We tried to explain but it was a really bad connection." Jacen justified. He had been a little nervous about going on their own, because of what happened with the killiks, but this was a chance that couldn't be passed up.

"You did well!" Luke assured him and invited his nephew to proceed.

"So we continued to follow it and tried to get its attention. When we finally got it, it told us to start fighting each other - don't ask me why, I don't know - but when we refused, it started shooting at us."

When Jacen stopped the account and turned to greet Tenel Ka who had just arrived, Jaina continued.

"To make it stop, we went ahead and sparred for a while, in hopes that it would be content and come with us afterwards. But when we stopped and told it we'd only continue this back here, it started shooting again and calling us _bad apprentices_. That's when Jag showed up and caught it with his clawcraft's tractor beam."

"Jaina told me what had happened here and, since I was close by, I came over to help. I arrived to see Jaina and Jacen ducking away from that thing." Jag explained.

"The Sphere struggled against the tractor beam quite a bit and almost brought Jag down, but then Jacen caught it with the Force and held it while I shoved the two ysamaliri we took with us inside it. That stopped it!" Jaina concluded the report.

"Good work, you three! And thanks for your help, Jag. Now lets get that thing in deep storage and shove a few more ysalamiri in there to make sure it's not going anywhere." Luke commanded the other Jedi.

"You guys can turn it into your new lizard hatchery." Han snickered.

~.~.~

On the planet called Korriban, Lumiya waited for another Dark Lord of the Sith - a former Jedi Master of the Old Republic called A'Sharad Hett, but known now as Darth Krayt.

The build that appeared before her might have been human once but looked like something out of a nightmare.

"Well, don't you look cute!" Lumiya remarked sardonically. Krayt was wearing a full body armor that made him resemble one of the creatures he had named himself after.

"Lady! Have you come to join my ranks? You are most welcome here."

"No, Krayt, I have not!"

"Then why have you come to disturb me?" He demanded, in a very sour manner.

"A golden opportunity has arisen! We can destroy the Jedi in one swift blow." She started, building up suspense before revealing her plan.

"Explain!" He commanded, his curiosity spiking.

"If we attack the Academy now, we can kill Luke Skywalker and destroy the Jedi Order."

"You're crazy! I will not risk it, I don't have the man power to overcome the Jedi, they outnumber us more than two to one."

"There are only a handful of them there, now. You outnumber them three to one." Lumiya explained. "And once Skywalker is taken care of, the Order will crumble and we can pick the other Jedi out one by one. This is the perfect chance!"

"What about your other plan? The one you cooked up with Vergere?"

"We'll still need a front man for the Order, someone we can control. And in the Academy is the perfect instrument to make certain we will attain Jacen Solo's unquestioned allegiance - his unborn child."

Darth Krayt looked at her and weighed his options. Sensing his unexpressed interest, Lumiya continued. "Think about it, Krayt! There are about a half a dozen Jedi there and over twenty children - new recruits for you."

"For me? And what do _you_ get out of this, Lumiya? And don't tell me it's just Solo's allegiance you're after."

"Mara Jade has just given birth to a set of Skywalker's twins. I want them… and, of course, the Solo baby. You can have the Skywalker boy."

"Are you having maternal urges, Lumiya?" He jested.

"I guess I am!" She smirked in a very sarcastic form. He did not need to know just why she wanted those kids nor what she had planned for them.

"Those Jedi have been nosing around too much, anyway!" Krayt mused. "Just the other day we had a couple of them snooping around here. Fortunately for us, we spotted them coming and concealed ourselves accordingly." Then he turned to her and declared. "You've got yourself a deal, Lumiya. I'll get my Sith ready and we'll raid the Jedi Academy."

~.~.~

Luke was in a meditative position, in a corner of Mara's room. She was lying on the bed with Ben, both resting from the tribulations of the day and the babies were back in the incubation pod, right next to Mara. It seemed he was the only member of the family who having trouble sleeping.

Between the rushed birth of his daughters in the morning, Callista's appearance in the afternoon and the apprehension of the Sphere in the evening, Luke's mind just wouldn't shut down and his head was pounding.

Luke dived into the calmness of the Force and waited for it to wash away his weariness. Instead what he got was a vision.

~.~

_It was night and he saw beings of different origins shouting war cries while running towards several small buildings and one large one. The buildings he immediately recognized as the bungalows and the Academy's main building._

He couldn't exactly tell how many beings there were, but they seemed to be commanded by another wearing a spiked body armor and wielding two lightsabers.

The last sound he heard before the vision ended was that of children crying.

~.~

When he got back to reality, his babies were crying and both Mara and Ben were waking up.

"What is it, Luke?" She asked, feeling his uneasiness.

"The One Sith is going to attack the Academy. And it will be very soon."

"Did you just see it?" Mara asked apprehensively while extricating herself from the covers and Ben's embrace. She leaned over the boy and whispered to him. "Go back to sleep, sweetie." Then she turned to tend to the crying babies.

"Yes, just now!" Luke affirmed while reaching for the second infant and a bottle. He reached into the Force to calm himself and not upset the little girl he was feeding. "I saw them storming through the Academy."

"And you say it will be soon? How soon?" Mara questioned him, a bit confused. She wasn't one to have a lot of Force visions - those were more Luke's department - but she knew they usually didn't come with a time stamp.

"In the upcoming days." Luke told her. "It could even be tomorrow. I'm positive this vision was a warning and their plan has already been set in motion."

"This would be the perfect time to attack the Academy." She mused. "There are hardly any Jedi here."

"Yeah, but how did they know? That is not common knowledge." Luke said and Mara gave him a look that held no doubt has to what her opinion was. "Ok, you don't have to answer that!"

"How many are we talking about?" Mara asked him instead.

"It was dark, I couldn't tell." Luke searched the memory of his vision attempting to reach a number. "Maybe twenty or thirty… I don't think they were much more than that. I think Lumiya was among them, though, and their leader, too. Callista must have alerted Lumiya as to our situation and she acted on it."

"She related our low numbers to Lumiya. The question is - just how low were our numbers when Callista contacted Lumiya, was it before you sent out half of us to look for her, or after that. Because if it was after, then we are already twice more than they think."

"Do you think Callista was aware that I called some of the Jedi teams from the closer systems back to Ossus after she attacked you?"

Mara shrugged at his question. "When are they due?"

"Tyria's and Kyp's have already arrived; three more team should arrive in the morning and five others later tomorrow."

"That should even things out for us." Mara smirked. "But just to be on the safe side, call back the rest - some of them might not make it on time, but then again maybe they will."

"The more the merrier?" Luke chuckled. He loved plotting with Mara. "Think the Sith will like the surprise?"

She offered him one of her winning smiles. "You should have the Jedi wait in concealment, as to not alert the Sith, and then when they attack, have the Jedi join the party."

"I knew I married you for a reason!" He snickered, then leaned toward the baby he had just finished changing and cooed to her: "Yes, Mommy is a very smart lady. Isn't she, baby? Hey, Mara, she smiled! Samira smiled at me."

"No, Skywalker, it's gas!"

-TBC…


	33. Chapter 33

**~ Chapter Thirty-Three ~**

The day after Luke's vision, and after he had issued his orders to the Jedi, Luke divided his time between Mara and Callista. When Mara was awake, they tended to their children together - the most pleasurable part of the day - but while she was resting, deep in healing trances to speed up her recovery, he talked to Callista, trying to understand what had driven her to her present state and evaluate whether or not she could be redeemed.

The urgency of the situation regarding his former lover had much to do with her health, which was rapidly deteriorating. Being contained inside the ysalamiri bubble made it impossible for Callista to sustain and heal the body she occupied, and the effects were soon made apparent. Cilghal had informed Luke that her lungs were constantly filling with fluid and her liver and kidneys were shutting down.

By that afternoon, Luke had to agree to either allow Callista to be transferred to the med ward or let Cilghal turn her holding cell into an extension of the ward. Since he would not subject his family to Callista's presence so close to them - poor Ben had had nightmares about her all night - he let the Jedi Healer move her apparatus to the holding cell and station one of her apprentices there, full time.

He would not, however, allow for the ysalamiri to be taken away, for that would give Callista back her Dark Force abilities and he feared she would make full use of them, so the Healer was restricted to use only her medical skills and not her Force healing techniques to help Callista. Later that day, Cilghal informed the Grand Master that Callista would not live much longer in these circumstances.

Through his conversations with her, Luke was able to ascertain that Callista had understood her physical situation almost from the start and it had been one of the reasons she had left to begin with. What she hadn't realized was that it was the effort of maintaining herself in that body that was keeping her from touching the light and so she had left hoping to find a solution to counteract her problem.

For years she had remained true to herself, staying away from the darkness, even though that exertion had had a toll on her, until the day she had learned of his wedding and then, seeing her dream of going back to him crumble, she had given in to bitterness, and ultimately she embraced her anger and allowed it to make her strong again. But even with her new-found strength, Callista's body still withered - only at a slower pace - so she had spent years looking for an answer.

This was all Callista had been willing to reveal to him, in a plea to have him remove the ysalamiri and let her tend to herself. When Luke asked her if she was willing to let go of her wrath and fight alongside the Jedi against Lumiya and the Sith if he let her out of custody, she answered she would and even without the Force, Luke knew she was lying and would relish the opportunity to have her way with his family.

Meditating on everything Callista had said and not said, and on the things he had learned from his visions, Luke reached the conclusion that her supposed answer would lead her to the Maw and to Abeloth where she would either be vanquished or, maybe even, willingly join forces with the demon making it far more powerful than before.

Maybe the whole previous day, even if it had been painful for him, had been a way for the Force to halt the rise of Abeloth. And considering that things had turned out alright by the end of the day, Luke decided it had been a price worth paying.

~.~.~

Things were now very quiet at the Jedi Academy. Luke had commanded most of the Jedi that had already arrived to conceal their presences and scatter around the grounds' limits and in the nearby city, but not too far that they couldn't be back within just a few minutes. He had also ordered the ones that stayed in the Academy to conduct themselves in the most normal of ways. If there was anyone watching them, Luke wanted to make sure they had no reason to become suspicious.

Still, the air was thick with anticipation. The children were nervous and the adults were edgy, and even the wildlife seemed to have gone into hiding.

Luke and Mara had just finished another run of feeding and changing their twins and were trying to get them to fall asleep when they heard voices rising in next room.

Crossing the med ward's corridor, Luke knocked on Tenel Ka's door and entered.

"What's going on here?" He asked the couple inside.

"Uncle Luke, please tell Tenel Ka she can't be involved in the battle." Jacen pleaded to him.

"I am very capable of defending myself and my child, Jacen Solo!"

"Yes, but we're not talking about defending, this is a battle against the Sith, Tenel Ka. Be sensible."

"Be quiet you too!" Luke had to cut in or they would never be quiet. "What's going on here?"

"Tenel Ka wants to be in the battle, Uncle Luke." Jacen began explaining. "But she can't because she is very pregnant with our child."

"I can still defeat you if I have to, Jacen. I did so yesterday."

"Because I let you. And if I knew it would go to your head, I wouldn't have."

"Ok, ok, enough!" Luke was forced to interrupt again.

"Master Skywalker, I want to help! Do not treat me like an invalid, just because I'm pregnant." She pleaded.

Luke understood both their cases: on one side Jacen was deeply worried about the well-being of the woman he loved and of their unborn child - something Luke could relate to completely - and on the other side Tenel Ka, who was a proud warrior by birth, wanted nothing more than to do her part in helping with the defense of the Academy and do her duty has a Jedi Knight.

The Jedi Master evaluated the young female Knight in front of him. Despite being five weeks away from her due date, Tenel Ka remained a very elegant and light woman and still found it easy to move - and even fight if need be - gracefully. She had proven that just the day before, when she dared Jacen to spar with her.

After pondering both sides, as befitting a Grand Master, Luke came up with a compromise.

"Actually, Tenel Ka, I had planned to team you up with Tionne. I need both Kam and Cilghal outside and Tionne needs help concealing the children's presences in the Force. I'm very sure the children are a target for the Sith, whether they plan to kill them or take them away. I need someone there that can both help hide the kids and defend them until the reinforcements arrive."

That argument seemed to convince both Jacen and Tenel Ka and, just as Luke was excusing himself, Jacen sent him a thank-you through the Force.

After leaving them, Luke wished he could have Mara do the same thing he had appointed to Tenel Ka, but he knew that was not going to happen. Mara had diligently followed Cilghal's instructions and managed to heal herself completely and had been deemed fit for duty by the Master Healer. Besides, Mara was one of his best Masters and her aid in the defense of the Academy would be invaluable. She was playing her part though, only appearing outside for brief moments and always looking haggard but happy.

~.~.~

It was on the second night after Luke's vision that the Sith attacked.

They had landed in four small groups of five or six individuals, to the neighboring towns around the Academy, hoping to blend in and get a feel for the place before attacking; they then would to make their way to the Academy's borders.

When they were all in position, they skulked inside the grounds in search of their first victims, dividing into smaller groups.

Watching their adversaries' every step since landing, and doing a much better job at masking their presence, were the Jedi. While the Sith teams spread and scattered to cover the entire area belonging to the Academy, a dozen Jedi followed them and relayed their position to the Jedi in the Academy.

Luke knew, because he had seen it in his vision, that their leader would only join the battle when it was already undergoing, so he knew they wouldn't be able to quietly pick out the Sith teams one by one as they swept the Academy. They would have to make sure the attack was loud and in the open. It would also have to be contained by merely the few Jedi that were stationed inside the Academy for as long as possible because, if their leader realized the deception, he would probably abandon his minions and flee.

So waiting for the order to join in, and just beyond the limits of the Academy were Jaina, Leia and Han Solo, Saba ant Tesar Sebatyne, Corran and Valin Horn, the Sarkin-Tainers, Zekk, Kyp and Lowbacca, Kyle Katarn and Tresina Lobi with their apprentices and a little further away were another two dozen Jedi waiting to step in as soon as they were needed.

Luke had managed to gather quite a force to stand with the Jedi. He had gotten the word to Talon Karrde, who had arrived with two ships and one hundred ysalamiri to be used in protecting civilian ships, like the _Wild Karrde_, the _Pulsar Skate_ and the _Lady Luck_, and the fighters used in battle from frontal Force attacks and later for restraining Sith prisoners. Luke had also managed to raise a full squadron formed by X-wings and Jag's clawcraft. The larger ships were camouflaged and scattered on fields around the Academy, while the fighters were waiting the launch command aboard the _Tradewyn_, that had come back to Ossus to aid the Jedi, their pre-flight sequences already run and their pilots itching to make them fly.

When the four Jedi sentinels raised the alarm, Luke, Jacen and Kam joined the battle, quickly followed by Mara, Cilghal and Raynar. Inside the Academy, Tionne and Tenel Ka locked themselves in a bunk they had cleared for this purpose with Evlyn, Nyia and the children.

~.~

Monitoring the advances of his forces was Darth Krayt, in a low orbit just above the Jedi Academy, and next to him stood Lumiya eagerly awaiting the development of the battle and anticipating her showdown with Mara Jade. They didn't suspect that the Mon Calamari Star Cruiser stationed twenty kilometer from them, in a higher orbit, was actually keeping a very close watch on their ship.

In her position next to Krayt, Lumiya was speculating why Callista hadn't contacted her since she had reported the Academy being virtually empty. The conclusion the Dark Lady was reaching was not very reassuring. It was clear that her partner had overstepped herself and had been caught by the Jedi and Lumiya only hoped Callista hadn't blabbed about her plans because it that was so, this plan would not unfold smoothly. Of course, if she were to inform Krayt of her suspicions, the plan wouldn't unfold at all, so Lumiya decided to keep them to herself.

~.~

On the ground level, the Sith were quickly overwhelming the few Jedi and Luke called in the next wave of his forces that was already skulking around the Academy's grounds. The new additions to the Jedi ranks were soon met by an expected increase in the Sith numbers and the battle continued with greater intensity.

As the battle on the ground escalated and the first casualties were sustained, the ships were given a go for launch.

~.~

When Krayt realized what was going on down at the Academy, he ordered his pilot to turn his ship around.

"No, Krayt! We can still do this." Lumiya protested. She was looking forward to getting her hands on the Skywalker twins and wasn't about to give up so easily.

"Lumiya, your intel was sloppy and your plan has failed."

Suddenly, there was a loud explosion and the whole ship shook.

"My Lord, we were just hit by that Mon Cal Cruiser, up there." The pilot informed without being asked.

"Get us out of here, Proctor!" Krayt ordered.

"My Lord, I cannot. The ship's hyperdrive has been hit. Sir, we're surrounded by fighters."

"Shoot them down!"

The Sith ship fired several shots, but without being able to get a real feel for the fighters and their pilots in the Force, and because their opponents were some of the best fighter pilots in the galaxy, they soon found themselves unable to sustain their orbit and were forced into an emergency landing.

~.~

The battle at the Jedi Academy raged on, now with the Jedis' full force clashing with the remaining Sith, now greatly outnumbered. It was then that Luke received word that Krayt's ship was crashing on a field a few kilometers from Academy. He called upon the nearest Jedi fighting by his side and, hopping on the _Skate_, they made their way to the crash site.

~.~.~

The Sith ship crashed hard on the ground, but not hard enough to kill all its occupants. The ones that emerged from the wreck were so enraged by their situation that their anger sizzled in the Force and was felt by all sentient beings on the planet, whether they were Force-sensitive or not.

When Luke, Mara, Corran, Jaina and Zekk arrived at the clearing, they were met by the mighty Darth Krayt in full body armor, four of his darthy minions and Lumiya, the Dark Lady of the Sith.

"May the Force be with you!" Luke whispered through the Force to his comrades just as Krayt gave his order to attack, and the fighting commenced immediately.

From the corner of his left eye, Luke could see Zekk engaging a large Togorian male, Corran defending the strikes from both a Devaronian and a Twi'lek and Jaina advancing on a tattooed Human. On his right he saw Mara and Lumiya measuring each other. It was a split second before Darth Krayt advanced on him.

~.~

To the far right side of the wreckage, the two former Emperor's Hands were settling their scores.

"Mara Jade!" Lumiya offered a mocking courtesy.

"Shira Brie!" Mara responded in kind.

"How're the kids?" The Dark Lady smirked provokingly.

A moment later they were slashing and fending off each other's blows.

~.~

During his own clash with Krayt, Luke was marginally aware that Corran had quickly gotten rid of one of his opponents by having the Devaronian drive his lightsaber through the Twi'lek's chest and that Jaina and Zekk had opted to keep switching adversaries in order to confuse them. He was also aware, through his bond with Mara, that she and Lumiya were engaged in a fierce duel of their own.

~.~

On the other side of the wreckage, Mara was finding it hard to get under Lumiya's guard because the use of the lightwhip gave the Dark Lady a wider range and its swinging tassels kept her at bay.

Lumiya's weapon of choice was a very exotic one, composed of both flexible energy beams and tassels of solid matter. But Mara also had a few tricks up her sleeve - literally up her sleeve - because covering her left arm and hand was the sleeve and glove from a Jensaarai cortosis armor.

As Lumiya snapped her lightwhip one more time, Mara used the Force to bring the whip's multiple tendrils to her gloved hand causing the energy beamed ones to short circuit and shut down and the solid matter ones to wrap around her wrist. A second later, taking advantage of Lumiya's surprise and continuous motion, Mara pulled the enwrapped tassels back and slashed at the Dark Lady's arm, cutting her forearm in two.

Lumiya's scream was one of anger instead of pain and she quickly responded by shooting a full charge of Force-lightning in Mara's direction.

~.~

Darth Krayt's attack was brutal. Wielding his two lightsabers, he pushed Luke back towards the farthest end of the clearing, isolating him from any possible backup. Luke parried his blows as best he could, but the Sith Lord's overwhelming strength was threatening to overpower him. Very soon, Luke was forced to bring out the second lightsaber he brought with him.

It was when one of Krayt's lightsaber energy blades connected with Luke's arm that the Sith Lord had a very unpleasant surprise - the energy beam shut off. In the second after that, and in a desperate attempt to regain the upper hand, Krayt thrust his second lightsaber, blade ignited, towards Luke's heart. The Jedi Grand Master twisted his body to the right and downward, and then came back up in one flowing motion and, finding himself under Krayt's defense, Luke stabbed the Dark Lord with both blades.

Luke barely had time to place a strong Force-shield around himself and prepare for the subsequent explosion of dark energy.

~.~

Mara received the full charge of lightning with her lightsaber and in the next moment called the fallen lightwhip to her hand. The Jedi Master ignited the whip and swung it towards Lumiya's feet, tripping her and burning deep slashes in her legs. With one more motion, Mara slashed her lightsaber and cut off the Sith Lady's head.

Mara returned to the other side of the wrecked ship just in time to see her husband kill Darth Krayt, and used all her remaining energy to pull him away from the blast.

~.~.~

Luke regained consciousness a couple of minutes later, opening his eyes to see his wife's sparkling green eyes and fiery hair shining in the first rays of the rising sun.

"We did it?" He asked in a barely audible voice.

"We did it." She confirmed and he could see Jaina and Zekk approaching him from the right and Corran standing a little further and signaling the_Pulsar Skate_ to land.

"There was only the Togorian left, and the blast took him out." Jaina informed Luke, who was slowly rising to a sitting position.

"Yeah, the cortosis sleeves you got us really threw them off." Zekk remarked rolling up the sleeve of his robes and tunic to reveal the piece of armor.

In the distance, against the sun rise, Luke could see Mirax running out of the Skate and into her awaiting husband's arms.

"Can you get up, now?" Mara asked Luke, supporting him by holding his arm.

"Yeah! Let's go back to the Academy and see how things are there. We'll deal with this mess later.

-TBC…


	34. Chapter 34

**~ Chapter Thirty-Four ~**

Back in the Jedi Academy, Jacen had just _taken care_ of a couple of Sith that had infiltrated the main building when he found himself just outside of Callista's holding cell. He went inside when he heard her calling out in a withering voice.

"Jacen Solo, it has been a long time."

"I'm sorry, I have no memory of you." Jacen said coldly. It wasn't really the truth, but Jacen didn't feel like reminiscing with her. "And I don't have time to chat."

"What is going on outside?" Callista asked him before he could leave.

Jacen smirked and gave Callista her answer: "Your friends came to pay us a visit. They found us much better prepared to greet them than they had anticipated."

"Have you married her yet?" Callista then asked, interrupting Jacen's departure once more. "I noticed your sweetheart is pregnant. I also noticed who she is."

That remark made Jacen pause and pay attention to the Sith in front of him.

"Do you think the Hapans will welcome another Jedi to their Royal House, Jacen?"

"I don't see how that's any concern of yours, Callista."

"They will not let their Queen Mother marry you, Jacen. And they will not welcome your child in their midst."

Jacen could plainly see that her intention was to rattle him, but still he decided to see where she was going with this. Callista rose from her cot and approached the containment field.

"I can help you, Jacen! I can teach you how to keep them safe, forever."

_'Here we go! Does she really think I'm that stupid?' _Jacen thought to himself, but still approached her faking curiosity. "And what exactly would I have to do to ensure your aid?"

"You'll just have to let me out of here. No one need know you helped me and then, when you needed me, I would help you protect them." Callista proposed. The effects of the ysalamiri bubble wouldn't allow her to properly read Jacen, but the young man seemed interested in what she had to offer.

Jacen held the suspense for a few moments, looking into her metal colored eyes. Then he shrugged and gave her his answer.

"My family and friends will help me protect them, Callista, I trust them completely." Jacen then turned and left Callista making sure to properly lock all accesses to her cell.

~.~.~

Outside, the battle between the Jedi and the Sith had wined down and the Jedi had cornered the few remaining Sith in a couple of locations around the grounds. The Sith, however, would not surrender and in the end the Jedi were forced to take them out.

The sun was showing its first rays when the ships and fighters hovering over the Academy landed and Master Cilghal ordered some of the Knights to put out the fires that had erupted during the battle and start bringing the wounded to the med ward.

Leia had gone with Han and Valin Horn, who had been separated from his father and master during the battle, to open up the entrance to the shelter where the younger students and their families had been hidden with Tionne and Tenel Ka when they found Jacen coming their way, undoubtedly to do the same.

"Where's Jaina?" He asked.

"I saw Jaina getting on my Mom's ship with the Masters' Skywalker and my Dad, but I don't think they're back yet." Valin told them, in a concerned tone.

Leia, noticing the boy's mood, turned to him and asked gently.

"I can sense my daughter is ok, Valin, and I'm sure you can sense the same about your father, can't you?"

"Yes, Ma'm!" The boy answered, but still felt a bit nervous. It had been Valin's first battle - and what a battle - and he was still feeling the adrenaline rushing through his veins.

In the meantime, Han had already entered the code key for the concealed entrance and they were swarmed by twenty or so very nervous kids. Valin opened his arms to receive his little sister Jysella, Jacen was holding Tenel Ka and Han had caught little sobbing Ben in his arms. It was obvious that weighted tension of the battle outside had frightened the younger children and they all had tear marks running down their faces and were still flushed.

"Where is Mommy and Daddy?" Ben asked in a weepy voice.

"They'll be right over, Sweethart." Leia assured the little boy. At least she hoped they would be returning soon. She had felt a flash of physical pain from Luke at the same time as she had heard that big blast, but hoped he hadn't been seriously hurt. Sometimes she thought her brother had more lives than a wild feline.

"It's best to not take the children outside, Tionne," Cilghal - who had just walked in with the first set of injured Jedi - said to the other Master, "it's too much of a mess. The Knights are cleaning up now."

Tionne, following the Healer's advice, started to lead the kids to the cafeteria, helped by Tenel Ka and Leia. It was then that Ben jumped out of Uncle Han's arms and, followed by the Horn kids, rushed outside.

"Let him go, Han," Leia said, knowing were the boy was going, "and help me take this thing out, it's very uncomfortable."

"It might be uncomfortable, Sweetheart, but it sure came in handy." Her husband said while pulling out the cortosis sleeve and attached glove.

Outside, Ben ran strait into his Mommy's and Daddy's arms and, next to them, the Horns had their own family reunion.

While Mara wiped the last remaining tear marks from their son's face, Luke looked around and took in the sight. Almost all of the bungalows had suffered some kind of damage, and four had been completely destroyed. There were several windows broken and scorch marks all over the place. In terms of casualties, the Sith - due to their no surrender policy - had sustained one hundred percent casualties while in the Jedi ranks there were at least four dead and several wounded, some of them seriously.

Still, losses were inevitable in a battle like this, and it actually hadn't been that bad. The Jedi would rebuild all that had been destroyed, take care of the wounded and honor the dead. Luke thought back to the visions he had had and the messages he had received from his father and from the Force and he had to admit to himself - he and the Jedi had won.

Luke felt an arm wrapping around his waist and looked to find Mara's eyes on him.

"Do you know what today is, Mara?" He asked his wife.

She looked around and answered promptly: "The day we beat the Sith?"

He smiled and she could see an immense relief in his face and in his Force-sense.

"Today is the first anniversary of the Ralroost summit, and of that first vision."

"It has been one very busy year!" She remarked and passed Ben to him. "Come on Farmboy, let's go see our baby girls - I'm sure they miss us."

"Yeah, you two go on, we've got this here." Han told them and pointed to the chaotic surroundings.

~.~.~

In the far side of the Academy's grounds, where some of the fighters had landed, Jaina and Jag had their own little reunion.

"I was worried about you." He admitted after kissing her deeply.

"Why? Did you think I couldn't take care of myself? I can, you know."

"I know! But it's in the nature of those who love to worry. And we were talking about Sith, here, not just any opponents."

"Hey, I've been facing Dark Jedi and Sith since I was a little girl." She informed him, matter-of-factly. "Did you just say you love me?"

He smirked and his eyes lit up. "You know I love you, Jaina Solo."

"Well… I love you too, Jagged Fel."

"Will you marry me?" He asked, without planning to do it.

She stared at him just long enough to make him sweat a little. Then her lips curled up in a huge grin and she answered: "I will!"

-TBC…


	35. Chapter 35

**~ Chapter Thirty-Five ~**

One week after the battle with the Sith, life was back to normal in the Jedi Academy. All the damage had been fixed, the wounded were healed or healing, the dead had been honored and their families informed in person by the Grand Master, and the bodies of the attackers had been disposed of properly.

Luke ended up ordering that the Sith Meditation Sphere be dismantled and its parts thrown in the system's sun and none of Tionne's protests changed his mind. If that thing had something to teach, he didn't want to learn it and he certainly didn't want his students learning from it.

That evening, Cilghal came to him while he was having dinner with the family and informed him that Callista was in her last minutes of life. Luke's first impulse was to dismiss that fact as unavoidable but ended up going to her anyway - Luke just wouldn't feel good about himself if he let Callista die without talking to her one last time, even with all she had done.

"I understand, Luke!" Mara assured him just before he left the dinner table. "This is who you are, and it's one of the reasons I love you so much."

So, he went to his former lover and watched her take her last breath. He harbored a marginal hope that faced with her death, Callista would choose to return to the light and apologize for her actions, but she did not - she didn't utter a single word to him. Still, he had been there for her and after she died, he felt nothing but relief.

~.~.~

Feeling less than relieved at this point was Tenel Ka. She had received a comm call from her father, who had heard of the attack and had naturally been concerned, and had revealed to him her pregnancy and her current situation. Isolder had been upset that his daughter would hide something of this magnitude from him but had understood her reasons. In the end, Isolder told her that she should consider her options and make some difficult choices.

Tenel Ka was ruminating on those very options when Leia came to see how she was.

"I'm feeling very well, Leia."

Leia studied the young woman in front of her. She looked tired and was clearly troubled about something. Leia placed one supportive hand on Tenel Ka's back and she broke into tears.

"Hey, hey! Tell me, Dear, what is it? Did my son do something?"

"No, no! Jacen is the best. He cannot see me this way." Tenel Ka said and tried to pull herself together. If Jacen were to sense her mood, he would come back running too fast and Tenel Ka would have no choice but to tell him what was going on.

"Is it the pregnancy? It can be very hard to go through the last weeks. Are you afraid?"

"No... Yes! But it's not what you think." The younger woman dried her tears and Leia waited for her to continue. "I don't know what to do - about Allana and about Jacen."

"You mean after the baby's born?" Leia now understood what Tenel Ka was going through and the hard decision that was before her.

"My people will never accept Jacen as my consort, but I don't want to leave him. Even if I were to take him with me and marry him against their wishes, he'd be miserable there. I grew up there and I'm miserable there. You have no idea, Leia, I'm constantly looking over my shoulder, and the ones that act as my friends - they just want something from me." Tenel Ka babbled on. "And what kind of life would I be able to offer Jacen and our daughter?"

Leia hugged the young woman next to her and gently caressed her braided tresses.

"I can't tell you what to do, Tenel Ka, but it seems to me that if you're that unhappy about your life you should be able to do something about it."

"But I'm the Queen Mother, I must be the way my people expect me to be."

"No one can tell you to be unhappy. What would make you happy?"

"To be with Jacen and our daughter." Tenel Ka answered without hesitation.

"Then be with them! Tell your Noble Caste to go kriff themselves."

Tenel Ka laughed at Leia's statement, but soon grew serious again. "I'd be condemning them to a lifetime of distrustfulness and, Force knows, even putting their lives at stake. I know Jacen can take care of himself, but what about our child?" Tenel Ka shook her head, disgruntled. "And Jacen is happy here! He loves the work he does with Master Cilghal so much."

"Yes, he does!" Leia agreed wholeheartedly. She had never seen her son so sure of what he wanted. "But he loves you more! He'll go with you and protect Allana, if you ask him. I know he's already asked you to marry him."

"About three times, now."

"You know, Tenel Ka, when I was Chief of State I too had to make this kind of choice and I ended up having to send my kids away many times for their own safety."

"I know! I've considered leaving Allana here with you and Jacen could stay with her - I know he'll be a good father and she'd be safe here…" Tenel Ka started to say.

"But you'd be even more unhappy and so would he." Leia concluded for her. "Our situations aren't really that similar - I had a choice about becoming Chief of State, you were forced by circumstances to become the Queen Mother."

"I never wanted to be Queen Mother!" Tenel Ka declared, remembering how much she fought against her fate.

"What would you do if you weren't the Queen?" Leia asked her, very seriously.

"I would marry Jacen and raise our daughter here." The younger woman answered and Leia could tell that that was her deepest desire.

"If only there was a way you could do that." Leia looked at Tenel Ka intently. "Is there a way you could do that?"

Now it was Tenel Ka's turn to stare at Leia. _'Was there a way she could do that?' _

"Think about it!" Leia told her before leaving Tenel Ka alone with her thoughts.

~.~.~

One week after her talk with Leia, Tenel Ka returned to Hapes, but not to stay. It was a quick trip, only taken so soon because it was important to get this matter settled as early as possible. When she arrived, Tenel Ka immediately ordered a meeting of her Councilbeings and a press conference in order to make a statement.

She announced to all that it was the will of the Force, and her own, to lay down her claim and that of her direct descendants to the Hapan in favor of her cousin Elora Romara who had been Regent during Tenel Ka's seclusion and that had done a wonderful job at it. Tenel Ka was sure, in her heart and in the Force, that her cousin would be a great Queen Mother to her people.

That feeling was confirmed when the second act of the new Queen Mother, right after naming her own daughter official heiress, was to nominate Tenel Ka herself as Councilor and official liaison to the Jedi Order.

~.~.~

About three weeks later, Allana was born. It was a joyous for the entire family and Luke found himself wishing that the birth of his daughters had been filled with that much joy - the memory of that day still brought a twinge to his heart. But he quickly put those thoughts aside, his babies were perfectly well now and Mara had made a full recovery so there was no reason for misgivings. They might have not been able to celebrate his babies birth at the proper time, but they had certainly had celebrated it after that, and thoroughly.

Luke watched with much pleasure when Jacen brought the baby out to meet the family. There was so much happiness in his nephew, he literally glowed like a supernova in the Force.

"He doesn't look anything like a Darth, does he?" Mara whispered in Luke's ear so that no one else could hear.

"He really doesn't! There is not a shred of darkness there." Luke agreed unreservedly, then he held her tightly in his arms and kissed her imprinting all his love in that kiss.

_- Continued in the Epilogue -_

* * *

**_Thank you all so much for reading and reviewing this story!_**

**_Now, because this is practically over, I'll just go ahead and post the Epilogue next._**

**_I hope you have enjoyed this trip as much as I have, and thanks again for coming along._**


	36. Epilogue

**~ Epilogue ~**

Three months later, the whole Academy stopped for another joyous occasion, this time a wedding. It was a small wedding, considering the bride was the former Queen Mother of Hapes, but it was large enough to accommodate the families and all their friends.

Sitting in the central table, Luke looked around and took in the entire festivity. On his side sat his beautiful wife, cleaning cake from their son's laughing face, their twins were wide awake in their baby seats studying their Uncle Lando's moustache while he made funny faces at them. Lando's wife, Tendra, was talking to Leia - something about trying to have a baby of her own - and on Leia's lap, rested Allana while her parents were on the dance floor. Han was standing on Luke's left side, talking to Jag and looking bemused because Jag had just told him of his intentions to marry Jaina.

One table over sat Karrde, Shada, the Antilles, Winter and Tycho Celchu and several other friends, some of them already tipsy. On other tables around sat Jedi Knights and Masters, all celebrating the day.

Luke took a deep breath and reached with the Force to bathe in their happiness. Suddenly he was somewhere else.

~.~.~_  
_

_Luke was in another wedding, indoors this time. He looked around and saw all the familiar faces, only this time about twenty years older, mixed with many other new faces._

_He saw a half-a-dozen children running around the ballroom and when he looked to where the bride and groom stood, he saw a young man with red-golden hair and blue eyes looking back at him and grinning widely, and he immediately recognized his son. Luke saw that Ben's arm was wrapped around a dark haired woman dressed in a wedding gown. To Ben's right stood two identical young women who, except for their blond hair, were the spitting image of Mara. And to his left stood a slightly different teenage version of Ben, and Luke knew, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that that boy was also his son._

_Luke then felt a small tap on his arm and turned to see his wife, looking older but still so beautiful._

_"Shall we join them?" She asked, grabbing his hand._

~.~.~

At that moment, his vision dissolved and Luke found himself holding younger Mara's hand.

"You saw something." She stated with concern.

"Yes, but this time I only saw light. Shall we dance?"

Luke directed Mara to the dance floor thinking that, this time the whispers from the Force had been blissful chants.

_- THE END - _


End file.
